Devious Intentions
by Shananigans10
Summary: There's a killer on the loose and Hermione, who has been threatened directly, is sent to live at Malfoy manor by her friends and aurors, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Too bad they didn't understand those actions would reopen old wounds and rekindle a lost romance. And who is the man with the devious intentions? Non-con mentioned throughout.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- I finally decided on a name! Honestly, does anyone else have the hardest time choosing a name and making a write up?! I think it's harder than writing the actual story haha, anyway, I just wanted to make a quick note that there is non-con in this story (not this chapter, but soon enough) and the story itself contains quite a few flashbacks. The flashbacks are written in italics. Also, Harry and Ron aren't the best people alive in this story, but they aren't AWFUL either - just so everyone is aware now!**

 **I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter One**

"You can't be serious!?" Hermione Granger exclaimed loudly in the office of the Minister of Magic – Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Her wide brown eyes fled to her two friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, who were Aurors with upstanding reputations, even though Ron sometimes took flak because everyone assumed he had only received the position because of his famous friend who had defeated Lord Voldemort a few years previously.

"There's no way you're being serious," she said, a relieved giggle escaping her lips, "That was a good one, guys."

Hermione stood and gathered her purse and jacket into her arms, chuckling under her breath while her friends watched her closely, somewhat confused.

"Sit down, please, Miss. Granger. We aren't done here."

Hermione stilled her movements and turned back to the Minister, fear dilating her pupils momentarily.

"You _are_ being serious?"

"Do I look like someone who would joke about the murders that have been taking place?" the Minister asked in his smooth, deep voice "Never mind the direct threats that you've received."

Hermione sighed and dropped herself into the chair she had vacated moments before, her wild eyes landing on her closest friends, "You agree with this plan, then?"

"It was my idea, Hermione," Harry stated boldly while Ron sat back and chewed on his cheek. He had seemed incredibly tense lately, especially with Hermione, and she desperately hoped that it was because of this plan.

"Even if I agreed with this ridiculous idea, I highly doubt that they would agree to have me in their house."

"They already have. You're to arrive tonight, actually."

Hermione's eyes widened even more for a moment, shocked by that statement. She honestly didn't think Draco Malfoy would ever want to see her again, not after everything that had happened between them.

"Tonight?! This doesn't even make any sense," she exclaimed, lifting a slightly shaking hand to cover her eyes.

"It does, Hermione. All high profile muggleborns are being placed into safe houses until we can figure this out. The fact that you've already started receiving letters makes it even more urgent. No one in their right mind would ever expect to find you living at Malfoy Manor, and since they're still trying to prove themselves to society, prove that they don't feel the same way Lucius felt, they have agreed to let you stay with them for however long this takes."

"There has to be something else we can do," she said desperately, she highly doubted that Malfoy was ready to bury the hatchet.

Or ever would be, for that matter.

"Would you prefer to stay in a hotel with barely any security measures? In a small room that you wouldn't be able to leave until Godric knows, because we have no information on this killer at all? You would not be able to leave the room for anything, Hermione, and that's not saying that you wouldn't be found within days; that's not something I'm willing to risk."

Ron frowned at Harry's words but kept his mouth shut, apparently preferring to not weigh in on this matter.

"I just don't know why I can't stay with one of you."

Ron scoffed and finally opened his mouth, "Really Hermione? You don't think that we're the first conclusion people are going to jump to once they realize you're in hiding?"

"Well, probably, but-"

"There are no 'buts', Hermione! You have been threatened on more than one occasion with the exact same letters that have been found in the victims' possession."

"You're Aurors!" she burst out suddenly, "Surely you would be able to ensure my safety!"

"No, Hermione. We're working this case and won't be around on a regular enough basis; there will always be someone around at the Manor. When Draco's at work Narcissa will be home and she knows that if she wants to go out and do something it either has to be in the evening or on weekends. Add in the fact that the ministry in general has no sodding idea who the killer is… well, that just makes everything more complicated."

"Then how do you know I'll be safe at Malfoy Manor? What if one of them is the murderer?" she spit the words out harshly, her eyes darkened with anger even though she didn't believe her own words for a second.

"We have had many meetings with the remaining members of the Malfoy Family and have questioned them and their elves separately with Veritaserum. They want to do this…"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Harry because he wasn't sounding all that convincing.

"Really, Harry? Draco Malfoy is jumping for joy that I'm going to be living with him for an extended period of time?"

"Draco isn't extremely excited about it but he has taken a vow to ensure your safety and keep his eye on you."

"And Narcissa?" she asked weakly, knowing that regardless of the answer she would be going to live at Malfoy Manor for an undetermined amount of time.

"Narcissa is thrilled, Hermione," Kingsley said in his calming voice, "She's been wanting a female around for ages, apparently, and since Draco doesn't even have a girlfriend she's really looking forward to having you there."

Was the world going fucking insane?!

"Harry," she said sadly, giving her friend one more pleading look. He didn't even understand the can of worms he was opening with this ludicrous plan. He had no idea.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but this is the only way."

She dropped her eyes to her lap sadly, watching her fingers twist around each other in anxiety.

"I suggest you go pack, Miss. Granger."

Hermione took a deep breath and picked up her belongings from the floor before walking on slightly numb legs to the door, not sparing a glance at any of her friends. She almost held her breath for the entire walk to the floo stations, trying to keep her composure and smiling at all the people who glanced her way as she walked by. Her smile faltered a few times as she remembered that any one of these people could be sending her terribly degrading letters, could be out there planning their next attack on the muggleborns of their world.

For the first time since their deaths, Hermione was almost happy that her parents weren't around to witness the fear and deterioration of her world once again.

She was a fool to think that things would change once Voldemort was gone. There would always be prejudice in their world, but at least her parents wouldn't die at the hands of a psychotic killer.

They'd died in a car crash three years previously.

/

Hermione threw a lone shoe in the direction of one of the boxes she was packing, still completely brassed off that she was about to be living at Malfoy Manor. The thought alone was ridiculous and she was furious that her friends hadn't even stood behind her; had actually volunteered her to this insane plan.

 _Although,_ her inner voice said fairly, _they really don't understand the history because they've never been informed._

She batted her conscience away and decided that she shouldn't have been surprised that her friends were shipping her off – the relationship between the three of them had been tense at best since Harry's stunt a month previously.

 _"I think I've made a mistake, Hermione," Harry said, moving forward as she backed away. Once her back touched the wall Harry put his fists on either side of her shoulders, effectively trapping her._

 _"A mistake?" she asked, her voice trembling a little bit in slight fear from the look in his eyes. A look that she had seen before, just not on him._

 _"Yes. I don't think it's fair that I married Ginny when I feel this way about someone else."_

 _"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked lightly, trying to pass it off as a joke and get him to move away from her with a gentle push on his chest. She had seen him watching her for the last couple years, closer than he should have been considering he was married and they were only friends; she had honestly never expected him to act on anything and had really been hoping that he wouldn't. She didn't feel anything other than friendship toward Harry or Ron and she was always hoping to avoid the complications that would arise if either man tried to take it somewhere farther._

 _He didn't budge._

 _"Where's Ron?" Hermione inquired, trying to nudge his senses so he'd remember they weren't alone here and that this entire situation was extremely inappropriate._

 _"Around here somewhere," Harry answered vaguely, and before Hermione could even blink Harry had his lips pressed to hers tight enough to bruise. His hands had moved from the wall and were both under her shirt immediately, lifting the fabric so his hands could run along her smooth skin. Harry groaned aloud at the contact while Hermione grabbed his shoulders with her hands and pushed him away roughly._

 _"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed, but it didn't deter him and he rushed back at her, picking up exactly where he had left off. Hermione started writhing her body to try and squirm away from him, but the wall behind her was impeding her progress and Harry was holding both of her wrists in one hand above her head while the other was caressing one of her breasts under her bra._

 _He was groaning again, and Hermione stilled in horror when he ground his pelvis into her stomach, clearly aroused._

 _She had to stop this._

 _She whipped her head around again to try and break contact of their lips, and this time she was successful._

 _"Get off of me!" she all but screamed, and he was so surprised that his hand loosened on her wrists, which she wrenched out of his hands before shoving him away from her._

 _"Hermione," he whispered, looking embarrassed but not sorry._

 _"Go home to your wife," she said angrily, unnerved about what had just occurred._

Hermione let out a huff of frustration and then stopped completely and went still when she heard a small noise coming from her tiny living room.

She dropped the sundress she was holding up into another box and crept on silent feet toward the living area, her hand clamped tightly around her wand. Hermione stopped at the junction of the door and peeked around the wall a little bit, her heart suddenly thundering in her chest and blood rushing through her ears.

That was when she saw the letter that had been pushed beneath her door.

She approached it slowly and considered just leaving it on the floor, but she was always a curious being and that's why she bent low at the waist and snatched it up, straightening quickly and looking around self-consciously.

Hermione let out a puff of air as she slit the envelope open with her wand, pulling out a solitary sheet of paper as something fluttered to the floor, making her jump slightly.

She glanced at the item on the floor but unfolded the parchment in her hand hastily, ready to just get it over with.

The parchment was covered with the same derogatory things she had been receiving for over a month now; and she found herself wishing she had just kept her mouth shut and hadn't said anything to Harry and Ron at all. Then she would at least be able to stay in her own apartment and far away from the Malfoy family.

"I can't wait until you're dying beneath me; feeling my knife in your ribs as you pant out your final breaths," she read.

That was the last line of the letter.

He never signed the notes and always ended them about her death, but that didn't stop the chill that stole its way up her spine. She took a deep breath and looked back to the floor where a photograph was laying.

Well that was new.

She picked it up carefully and immediately dropped it again in shock.

It was a moving photograph of herself, not a long loop, but it was still one of the most disturbing things she had ever laid eyes on. In the photo she moved into her bedroom, pulling her shirt over her head and tapping a finger against her lips with deep concentration before she became aware of her surroundings and moved to her window in her bra, clasping onto her curtains and pulling them closed.

She knew by the clothes that the photo had been taken the night before; she had been wondering what exactly the Minister and her friends needed to see her about.

Her stomach rolled slightly and she picked up the photo again, clenching it in her fist before she took a paranoid look around her flat. All of her curtains were closed, thank Merlin.

She jumped about a mile and let out a little shriek as her floo activated and Harry stepped out, followed closely by Ron. She quickly thrust the note and the photo into the pocket of her jeans, deciding that they didn't need to be made aware of them at the moment, since they were shipping her off anyway.

Harry raised an eyebrow and Ron just stood there watching her.

"Everything alright?" Harry asked, entering her space and touching her arms.

She backed out of his grasp slowly, uncomfortable with his touches now. She was not a home wrecker, and she genuinely liked Ginny Weasley and wanted the girl to be happy. She was reminded of what had happened every time she saw Harry and she was ashamed of herself almost as much as she was disgusted by him. To make things worse he continued to make advances on her, which was completely wrong, on both of their parts, but she had no idea how to get him to back off without ruining their friendship completely.

"Well I'm packing up all of my possessions to go to a house that I was tortured in with people who hate my very existence. Everything is just bloody peachy."

"It's for your own good, Hermione," Ron said quietly, avoiding her eyes and trying his hardest to not look at Harry either.

Her mind instantly went to the photo of herself she had just received and she clamped her lips shut.

"I know," she said after a few moments, turning away and going back to her bedroom to finish packing.

"Almost done?" Harry asked from directly behind her, startling her slightly.

"Almost," she breathed, moving away and tossing the last few things in her bedroom into her boxes.

Harry cast a lightweight charm and stacked a couple after staring at her with a beseeching look for a few seconds; he headed toward the fireplace without a word and called out his destination. He stepped into the roaring green flames and Ron hurried into the bedroom to pick up the handle of her trunk and the last box before ushering her forward.

"Let's go, Hermione," Ron snapped after she dawdled around for a few moments; she had the distinct feeling that he didn't want to be alone with her at all. She was sad to be leaving her own space and even more morose to realize that she had so little in her life it could be crammed into three large boxes and one trunk.

She blinked the tears out of her vision and stepped forward with a straight back, taking a small handful of floo powder and shouting, "Malfoy Manor," before green flames engulfed her and she whipped out of sight.

/

Awkward wasn't even the right word for it. The air was heavy with tension and Hermione couldn't help but to fiddle with the edges of her sleeves with her fingers, waiting for Harry to finish talking to Draco Malfoy and his mother, Narcissa.

Draco kept glancing over at her with a strange look on his face and Hermione felt like she couldn't even make eye contact with him. It was too much. Their past was too much and she could clearly remember the day they had parted ways for good.

Draco seemed to be thinking the same way because he suddenly looked angry, looked like he could quite easily storm forward and strangle the life from her; something that wasn't exactly comforting considering she was to be sharing a home with him. Narcissa, who was tall, slim, and ridiculously fair and beautiful considering she had to be in her forties at the very least, kept shooting her curious, covert side-glances.

She at least seemed moderately friendly.

This was clearly an awful idea and she was just standing there like some young teenager being brought to a new home, new parents; she was staring at the floor fiddling restlessly and chewing her bottom lip.

She looked at Harry once more in pure desperation and the entire group were standing still, watching her expectantly.

She cleared her throat and accidentally made eye contact with Draco, who still looked unhappy, and maybe even a little bit hurt.

"I just want to thank you for graciously allowing me to stay here until it's safe for me to be in the public again," Hermione stated calmly, proud that she couldn't hear a shake in her voice, giving away her nerves, but she faltered when Draco scoffed before abruptly standing and leaving the room completely.

"You're very welcome, dear," Narcissa offered, before calling for an elf named Mugsy to collect Hermione's things to take them to her new room.

"Everyone remember the rules?" Harry asked, clearly deciding to ignore Draco's behaviour outright.

"No contact with the outside world," Hermione said quietly, and Narcissa nodded and added, "No one is to know she's here and her safety is our top priority."

"We'll visit you as much as we can Hermione, but I have a feeling it isn't going to be very often," Harry said moving closer to her while Ron watched him with slightly narrowed eyes.

She smiled weakly in their general direction but didn't want to make eye contact in case her tears made themselves clear. Despite the awkwardness between them right now they were still her best friends, her only friends.

Really the only people she had in her life.

Hermione took a deep breath and willed the tears down, "Of course, guys. I'll see you soon."

Harry faltered for a moment, aware that she was being much too cheerful for the situation but he knew that she was trying her best to stay strong. He pulled her into his arms despite her resistance and crushed her to his chest.

He held on a little too long and when Ron came in for his hug he didn't look overly thrilled.

"We love you," Harry stated, his emerald eyes holding her brown ones for a few moments before she smiled again and said, "I love you guys too, be safe."

She stood back and watched them enter the fireplace; they were gone the next moment. Hermione closed her eyes and willed herself to be strong for the months that were to come.

"Let's get dressed for dinner, shall we?" Narcissa said cheerfully, "I'll show you to your room, dear."

Hermione smiled weakly and followed Narcissa from the room. She was led through many halls and even up a grand staircase split in the middle, each curve heading to a different direction of the manor.

"Your rooms are closer to Draco's than they are mine," Narcissa was saying as she hurried down a hallway away from the staircase, "You're actually in his wing, but we thought you would be better off down here than anywhere near my rooms, and just the thought of having you off in a remote part of the house made me uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Hermione asked, a little bit confused about that.

"While the house is warded, wards are breakable, unfortunately. Having you in Draco's wing of the house will help me sleep better at night. The grounds are also warded, so as long as you have company going outside shouldn't be a problem; I need you to promise me that you won't go wandering around on your own, though. It just wouldn't be safe."

"Of course," Hermione stated, feeling nervous about being kept anywhere near Draco. She could probably do a better job fending off the serial killer, at this point in her life.

"Here we are, dear," Narcissa said, throwing open two large doors to a large bedroom that was probably the size of the kitchen and living area alone in Hermione's old flat.

"This is all for me?"

Narcissa gave a small chuckle and Hermione followed her into the bedroom. It was welcoming, more so than Hermione had ever expected it to be. It was white with delicious mint green accents throughout. There was a large king size bed, empty bookcases that were screaming to be filled and a large wardrobe for all of her clothes. There was a total luxurious feel to the entire area but Hermione was slightly surprised to realize that there wasn't an ensuite bathroom.

"Now get dressed for dinner dear, I'll come back to escort you to the dining area."

Hermione looked down at herself for a moment before catching Narcissa's eye. "Dressed?"

"Yes, we always dress for dinner."

"You mean… formal?"

"That's right."

Hermione didn't say anything and just stared at the woman before her. The only dress robes she owned were either the periwinkle blue ones she had worn to the Yule Ball when she was _fourteen_ and obviously didn't fit anymore, or dark ones that she wore exclusively for funerals.

"Am I to assume that you don't have formal dress?" Narcissa asked, in a way that was almost condescending; Hermione felt like a complete moron and instead of answering she just took a deep breath.

"Oh," Narcissa said, and Hermione looked up in time to see her touch her fingers to her lips. "I don't think I'll have anything that will fit you, you're much smaller than I am. I'll have to go out and buy you a few things as soon as I can."

"Oh, no, Mrs. Malfoy. I'll find something to wear."

"Well, I'll be back in thirty minutes to escort you to the dining room."

"Thank you," Hermione said, feeling bold as she reached out and let her fingertips glide along Narcissa's arm, "For everything."

Narcissa gave her a small smile and left her with her boxes; Hermione felt infinitely alone again.

After a few moments of standing in the middle of her new bedroom, Hermione turned hastily to her boxes and started going through them. She knew she had some sundresses and that would be much better than jeans.

She spotted the light blue fabric she was looking for after a few hasty moments of searching and pulled it out of the box. She changed quickly, running her hands over her hair in an attempt to flatten it a little bit and she went to the vanity and checked herself in the mirror, opting to add a little bit of lip-gloss to her full lips. She had no idea exactly how the Malfoy's behaved at dinner, so she thought any effort had to count.

While she was waiting she decided she may as well begin unpacking her boxes. She emptied her large trunk containing clothes and a smaller box that held both clothes and shoes with some random miscellaneous items thrown in the mix while singing a tune to herself. Her tone became a little more sombre as she began to empty her large boxes that contained books, moving them by hand to the bookshelves in the room that was now hers. She went to her discarded pair of jeans and pulled out the letter and photo she had received earlier that evening, deciding to keep it in a small drawer in her vanity. No one would ever have a reason to look in there for anything.

The last two things she held in her hand were muggle devices; she wasn't sure if the Malfoy's would approve of them, but she wasn't going to give either up.

She held an iPod with earphones wrapped around it and a little black zipped up case.

Music was one of the most important things in her life, other than her beloved books; they both helped her feel less alone after her parents died. Her cat went a few months after that and she had felt a little bit abandoned; that was when Harry had momentarily paid attention to her pain and brought her the best gift she could have imagined. Hermione had worked on it so that it would work in magical dwellings and didn't need to be charged with electricity; it instead charged on all of the magical particles in the air.

Maybe she would keep the iPod a secret for the time being.

The black case that contained needles wouldn't be kept a secret at all.

Hermione was deathly allergic to bee stings and needed her epi pen on hand if she was ever stung. If she wasn't given the shot in a decent amount of time her throat would begin closing, cutting off any air supply.

She would die.

/

"You were awfully rude back there, you know. What happened to all of the 'good-breeding' nonsense you've been spewing for the last four days?"

Draco turned to his mother while looping a tie around his neck, his fingers deftly knotting it while he rolled his eyes.

"I can't stand her."

"Well you better start trying, she's here now. I don't even know how you could possibly say that; you haven't even seen her for four years."

"I know her well enough to know that she probably hasn't changed," Draco said, but Narcissa noted that he sounded more upset about his words than angry.

Interesting.

"I like her," Narcissa said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Bully for you," Draco muttered, walking toward his mirror.

"It's time for you to grow up now, Draco. Don't forget that I was there and I know exactly why you turned your back on the entire Dark Lord's campaign, don't forget that I know it has everything to do with that girl across the hall," Narcissa said, turning away in anger and walking down the hall, she popped her head back into his bedroom a few seconds later and said, "Please accompany Hermione downstairs for dinner when you're ready."

Draco knocked a cologne bottle over with the back of his hand in annoyance.

His mother was right, of course; the witch across the hall was indeed the reason he had turned his back on his former master. Not only that, the reason he had turned his back on his father and the beliefs that were continuously being crammed down his throat in specialized 'lessons' that he had attended ever since he could remember – lessons that mostly included being on the opposite end of his father's wand. Hermione knew that she had a lot to do with the changes in Draco's life, but she didn't know everything.

She had made him question everything he had been taught growing up, everything, and because of that his father died knowing that his only son thought he was a pathetic coward.

His mum had already taken a liking to the witch who had changed everything in his life before she stomped on it, the witch intruding in his home, which wasn't overly surprising, since Granger had usurped everything else in his life since he was eleven years old in one way or another.

Apparently the trend was going to continue.

/

There was a knock on Hermione's door and she hurried to her bed and shoved her probably offensive iPod under her pillow, she listened to it most often at night anyway. She straightened up as her door opened and her heart clenched when she heard, "Hurry it up, Granger. I don't have all bloody night."

She groaned inwardly and approached the door where Draco was glowering in, a distinct look of distaste on his face. Hermione was painfully aware that Draco and Narcissa Malfoy escaped the clutches of the dark not a moment too soon. After Harry, Ron and Hermione had escaped to Shell Cottage from Malfoy Manor to recover they had learned from Remus Lupin that Narcissa and Draco had breached headquarters six days after the trio's narrow escape. Both of the Malfoy's had been bloody and weak, fighting for their lives from dehydration and near starvation, apparently Draco had almost lost consciousness numerous times while trying to explain what had happened and Narcissa had dropped to all fours the moment they breached headquarters and started to dry heave continuously for over twenty minutes. Both mother and son were in a considerable amount of shock, but once the Order members who were present understood that Draco was trying to say they had escaped the Dark they immediately took pity on them and nursed them back to health.

Draco didn't tell the Order of the Phoenix the complete truth about why they had defected from the Dark, he felt like that was his business and his business only, but he did tell them what they _needed_ to know. It was really his choice and he absolutely refused to leave his mother there to be murdered. He knew at the time what he was doing, but he didn't exactly take into consideration the fact that they were now on opposite sides of the war as the rest of their family. He didn't exactly realize that it was more than likely they would have to kill their own family members.

Hermione clutched her case of epi pens to her chest as she closed her bedroom door behind her and stood facing the one person she was nervous around; she knew he disliked her immensely for what she'd done to him, even after joining the light side.

It was all her own fault.

Instead of saying something polite to him, which she really felt she should do – maybe thank him for allowing her to stay in his home, she said, "I thought your mum was coming for me?"

Draco snorted and didn't even bother dignifying her with an answer. He turned on his heel and walked away from her quickly, leaving it up to her to either follow close enough to find the way or get lost.

He really didn't give a shit if she did either.

Hermione kept her mouth shut. She was a guest in this house and she knew that she would be dealing with a disgruntled Draco, regardless of what Harry had said to her previously.

She hurried along in his wake, determined not to let his attitude get to her. It wasn't like she was thrilled by this arrangement either.

"You call that formal, then?" he grated out, intentionally trying to goad her into an argument.

"I didn't realize I would need to bring gowns for dinner," she said softly, really wanting to avoid an argument tonight, she was already exhausted from the long day.

Draco almost rolled his eyes, but muttered, "Of course you didn't," under his breath.

By the time they reached the dining hall she was ready to turn around and head directly back to her room, unsure if she could manage to spend more time in the presence of someone who held such an angry grudge against her.

The sight of Narcissa beaming at them as they entered the room changed her mind though, but she wasn't thrilled with the seating arrangements when she realized she would be seated directly across the table from Draco, Narcissa was sitting at the head of the table.

It was a large dining table in an opulent room, and Hermione felt that the size of the table was really a huge waste of space considering there were only three of them.

"What do you have there, dear?" Narcissa asked as the elves began serving them their meal, and by the looks of it, it would be a long meal with plenty of courses.

Hermione unzipped the case slowly and nudged it a little bit closer to Narcissa. She glanced up and saw that Narcissa was looking at her curiously, her eyes slightly narrowed and her perfectly coiffed head tilted to the left slightly; Draco hadn't even bothered to pay the slightest bit of attention to what was going on… not that he needed to.

He already knew.

Narcissa reached a slender fingered hand forward and nudged the case lightly before asking, "What's in this, dear?"

"They're needles."

"Needles?" Narcissa leaned closer and canted her head even more, obviously trying to understand what exactly she was looking at.

Hermione pulled the case back to her with a sigh, she should have realized Narcissa would have no idea what needles were. Healing in the magical world was done strictly with wands and potions; something Hermione knew Draco was amazing at. He worked in the field as mostly a healer for the light during the war and had helped her out plenty of times in their childhood.

Hermione plucked a syringe out of the case and held it by the barrel, holding it up between her thumb and pointer finger so they could see it clearly, since Draco had finally decided to pay attention to what was happening. He glanced at the case of needles and went back to his meal, but Hermione couldn't help but notice that his expression seemed to soften slightly.

Probably with memories.

One side of the barrel was orange and the other was blue and there were diagrams that explained how it worked, but she wanted to explain it anyway.

"I have a severe allergy and if I'm exposed to it I need this needle immediately," She pointed to the orange side, "This is the needle part that needs to go into my body, but before you do anything you need to remove this blue cap on the other side. Once you've got that off you will need to jab the orange side into the outside of my thigh," Hermione gestured to her leg but was cut off before she should continue.

"Oh my…" Narcissa breathed, staring at the syringe with something akin to fear in her eyes.

"There's more," Hermione said, trying to smother her grin at the look on the older woman's face. "It's an auto-injector, so it'll pump the medication into my system, but it needs to be held there for a few seconds before you pull it out. Once you do that you just need to massage the area for ten seconds or so to make sure it gets through my system. You should also know that staying calm is very important, I could have some… reactions to the Epinephrine."

"What sort of reaction?"

"It's never really the same, but the times I've used my epipen I've had something known as 'Epishakes', and I'll probably be panicking. It's caused by the rush of epinephrine into my system, but please just remember that I'm not having a seizure."

"Siezure?"

"Never mind, that's not important. If I'm shaking afterwards, it's not a big deal."

"Why are you telling us this, dear?" Narcissa asked politely, although Hermione couldn't help but notice that she didn't look overly approving.

"Because there may be a point where I can't get to my medication in time. If that ever happens I'm going to have to rely on one of you to administer it for me."

"What is it for though?" Narcissa asked politely while Draco looked bored with the conversation.

"Because without the medication inside of this tube, I'll die."

Draco rolled his eyes and went back to his meal like it wasn't even a big deal but Narcissa looked stricken.

"You'll die? Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"What is this thing that will kill you then?" the matriarch of the family asked, concern in her eyes.

"Bee stings."

Silence followed Draco's words and Narcissa looked at him like he had gone completely crazy. Hermione felt a blush rising on her cheeks, which was absolutely absurd, but she reached out and held out a syringe in Narcissa's direction.

"Please keep this in an area that will be easy for you to get to."

Narcissa reached out a tentative hand and clamped her dainty fingers around the barrel of the syringe, nodding, but still shooting confused looks at Draco.

Hermione almost second guessed what she was about to do next, but she went through with it anyway. She had extra epipens just for situations like this and she wasn't about to put her life on the line because she was too cowardly to do what needed to be done.

She turned to Draco.

"I don't want it."

"You need to take one, Malfoy. What if you were to come across me somewhere in your wing, fighting for breath, or doubled over in such unimaginable pain that I can't even walk?"

Draco shrugged.

"I'll die! Isn't it your responsibility to ensure that I'm safe?"

Draco's eyes narrowed, and Hermione knew that he was pissed off now for reminding him about his duty to protect her. She could imagine just how angry _that_ notion made him.

Hermione held it out again and this time he grudgingly took it, putting it into the pocket of his suit jacket.

She finally picked up her fork and began to eat, noticing moments later that Narcissa was staring at her. Hermione finally gave in after just a few bites and looked back to the woman of the house.

"Please don't refer to Draco as 'Malfoy'. It's slightly rude and since we are in Malfoy Manor and I'm obviously a Malfoy as well, it could get a little bit confusing."

Hermione felt her cheeks start flaming immediately, she met the blond idiot's eyes and saw him smiling at her with a self-satisfied grin.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"It's quite alright, you may also refer to me as Narcissa instead of Mrs. Malfoy. I would honestly prefer that and you'll be here a while… I think it's best to just get in that habit straight away. We don't need things to be more awkward than they already are."

"May I be excused please, mother? I'm finished eating."

"You've barely eaten."

"I've lost my appetite," Draco claimed, staring straight at Hermione to make sure she understood that her presence was the reason why.

"Well, alright then."

"I'm going to change and then I'm going out," Draco said.

"Where are you going?" Narcissa asked her son, concern etched into her features.

"Out for drinks with Nott and Zabini."

Narcissa released a breath as Draco looked at her challengingly, "Remember, darling, not a word about Hermione's presence here," she said, but it seemed like she wanted to say much more than that.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said, almost mockingly, before he turned and left Hermione with his mother.

"So what have you been doing since school, dear?" Narcissa asked as Hermione took another bite of her dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hermione curled up in her large bed, her knees almost touching her forehead, falling tears narrowly missing her legs as they dripped from her face. Narcissa was being as pleasant as could be, even if things were a little forced, but that didn't stop Hermione from feeling utterly alone in this house. She'd already been living at Malfoy Manor for over a week and had spoken to no one except Narcissa. Well, other than small arguments with Draco, but she didn't think that counted.

If only things were different between them.

Hermione was also fairly certain that she heard someone walking around at night, quick light footsteps, and she could also swear she heard a male speaking to Draco in his room some evenings. Sternly. Draco went out every night and she could hear him stumbling down the hallway late at night, obviously drunk, and then she would hear this stern voice that was vaguely familiar almost giving him shit in his room.

Someone clearly didn't want Draco drinking as much as he did.

She sniffled and pulled her iPod from underneath her pillows, plugging the earphones into her ears and shuffling through the list until she found a song that would allow her to let her tears fall freely. She listened to a few songs before pulling herself together, unplugging when she decided she needed to use the loo.

She threw a dressing gown over her nightclothes and left the confines of her bedroom to make her way down the dark halls to the closest bathroom, which was in all reality only a few doors away.

Hermione stared at her face in the mirror as she washed her hands, she looked the same, but she felt like a completely different person. She had nothing going for her, no job, no boyfriend, a maniac killer out to get her.

She was a sad excuse for a human being and she knew it. She had the potential to be something amazing when she was younger, but that all fizzled away after the war, after her parents' death. She was left alone to her own devices with two boys who were clearly confused between the lines of friendship and relationship.

She sighed and cupped her hands, gathering water there to splash on her face.

Hermione stepped from the bathroom a few moments later, right into the path of a clearly inebriated and volatile Draco Malfoy. She instantly took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was sure was about to come.

Draco pulled to an immediate stop when he saw her, his lip curling into the usual sneer he wore around her now; it was unfortunate that it automatically came upon his features because it ruined his looks and made him look ugly, which he was far from.

He was staring at her closely with his somewhat strange silver eyes, unnerving her completely.

"You must feel pretty good about yourself right now," he stated seriously, but Hermione could hear the small slur in his words.

"What could possibly make you think that I feel good about anything?"

"Oh please," he scoffed, "Potter and Weasley are running around ensuring your safety, doing everything in their power to make sure their precious little princess is kept safe from the mad killer. You're back to make my life a living hell, which I'm sure is just the topping on the cauldron cake for you - like you haven't done enough."

Hermione sighed.

"I never wanted it to be like this between us, Draco."

"Well it is!" he spat, "it is, and it's your own fault!"

Hermione could already feel the tightening in her throat, because unfortunately for her… he was completely right. Well not _completely_ , he had his hand in everything too, but she felt like it was her fault because she hadn't been able to hold on to what she wanted… so she had let it go. It was easier that way.

"My mum is running around making sure that everything will be just perfect for your stay here, and I'm sure my house is a huge step up from whatever hovel you came from."

"Is that jealousy I detect in your tone, _Draco_?" Hermione asked mockingly, refraining from rolling her eyes and trying to keep herself together.

He laughed.

"I'm far from jealous, Granger. I have everything I could possibly wish for… you on the other hand, you have nothing. You had to stoop as low as staying in my manor just to ensure your protection. Looks like it will always be me who protects you."

Well, that hit a nerve.

"Don't even begin to act like you know what's been going on with me the last four years, you spoiled wanker. Too bad you couldn't buy yourself a new personality or some decent friends. Maybe you could pay a girl to put up with you long enough to want more than a quick shag."

He was on her before she could even react, before she could even feel the proper amount of regret for the words that had just slipped off her tongue. The moment she said them she wished she could cram them back into her mouth. He pressed a forearm across her chest and pinned her against the wall, his face inches from hers, the rage simmering in his eyes almost made her cower in fear.

She couldn't remember a time where she ever felt she would be on the receiving end of this particular look of his.

"I know I took a vow to ensure your safety from a serial killer, but don't for one moment think that I'm going to go out of my way to make you feel wanted here. You think you know so much about me, you little bitch, you think because of our past that you can talk to me that way?!" Draco was so angry he was spitting with his words now, "You think because of what you did to me that you have some sort of power over me? Guess again, you little whore, I don't want you here and I will never want you here!"

Despite it all, even knowing that Draco was drunk and was probably just trying to make her feel even worse about herself than she already did, she found herself blinking back tears and doing everything in her power to still her slightly quivering chin.

She was such an idiot.

His arm tightened on her chest even more, almost slipping up to her neck, and she could see the sparks of rage in his eyes and the sheen to his skin that proved just how angry he really was by this little encounter. He brought his wand up to her eye level with his free hand and waggled it for emphasis.

"I'll tell you what, I'll even do the honours of a well-aimed Obliviation charm. Merlin fucking knows I would be happy to see you packing and heading back to the muggle world, somewhere I would never have to see you again."

He pressed harder into her for a moment before backing off quickly and entering the bathroom she had just vacated, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione slid down the wall slowly, crumpling on the plush carpet as tears poured down her cheeks.

/

Hermione made it back to her room before Draco came out of the loo, mostly in fear of what would happen if he ran into her again. She was determined to avoid him at all costs, now. She would have been stupid to think that he wouldn't take out his anger on her at some point, but she wasn't quite expecting him to say that he would do the honours of obliviating her.

She didn't leave her room or unlock her door for three days; she wouldn't put it passed him to do exactly as he threatened. Not then, anyway.

Draco awoke the next morning with a raging hangover, but he was blissfully unaware of the hate and venom he had spewed at Hermione the night before. If he had remembered the things he said he would have been more than a little bit ashamed; he didn't hate the girl… oh no. He cared for her more than he would like to admit, and that's why he was so angry. He was so angry because he still had some feelings for her. This was the reason he went out and got loaded every night of his life with Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini… she was the reason.

Draco downed a hangover potion and got up to start getting ready for work.

"What's going on with Hermione?" Narcissa asked the room at large on the third day of Hermione's confinement.

No one answered her; not immediately anyway.

"Miss says she wants no company," one of the house elves informed the room.

"Well that's just ridiculous. Did she say why?"

The elf shot a nervous glance at Draco before she said, "Miss seems… afraid and very sad, Mistress, but she won't give Milly any esplanations."

The moment the elf looked at him he suddenly remembered pinning Hermione to the wall and the look of pure emotional pain on her face, but he had no idea what he had said.

The look the elf shot her son wasn't lost on Narcissa, and she threw her cloth napkin onto the table and pierced her son with angry blue eyes.

He looked away guiltily.

"What have you done?"

He shrugged, stood up from the table and walked away toward the front doors.

"I'll be flooing Severus, Draco!" Narcissa snapped at his back before rushing out of the dining room and up the stairs.

"Hermione, let me in. If you don't open this door within the next three minutes I will blow it down. I have my wand on me." Narcissa threatened as she released a quick Patronus that streaked down the hall and out the nearest window. Draco was at the other end of the hall watching, he had decided he'd rather know what he'd said, especially since it seemed as though his mother had just called for Severus.

Severus Snape had taken it upon himself to take over for Lucius's spot in Draco's life. He was a lot easier on the boy, but didn't let him get away with too much, and since it seemed as though he was starting a tentative relationship with Narcissa… well he was serious about keeping Draco in line and his mother happy. Severus knew everything about the past, too, which would make everything harder, Draco was sure.

He had been to the manor every evening and seemed to just know when Draco had been out drinking; he didn't shy away from letting him know exactly how they felt about it.

"You have one minute left," Narcissa called, and miraculously, Hermione's door popped open.

Narcissa entered and closed the door slightly behind her; Draco crossed the hall in a few long strides and hovered outside the door where he would remain unseen. He took a deep breath and waited to hear the blow of what it was he had said to the witch.

He wasn't sure he even wanted to know. He peeked through the door that had been left slightly ajar and could see Hermione walking back toward her bed; her now usually neat hair was in complete disarray and as she turned toward the door to get back into her bed he saw that her cheeks were wet with tears.

 _"Do you hear that?" eleven year old Draco asked his large dim-witted friend, Greg._

 _"Huh?" the hulking figure asked, looking up at Draco with confused eyes._

 _Draco waved him off and walked toward a closed door, turning his ear to it so he could hear what was happening inside better._

 _"Someone's crying in here," he said, turning back to Goyle, but he was surprised to see that his friend had disappeared, probably back down to their common room on his own. Draco stood still and listened to the sobbing closer, he surmised it was a female by the hiccupping words of 'stupid' and 'have no friends' he could pick up on._

 _Draco opened the door slowly, glad to note that it wasn't a creaky one. He slipped inside almost silently and closed the door softly behind him, turning around and instantly recognizing that it was Hermione Granger from Gryffindor house. Her knees were pulled up and her arms were wrapped around them, her cheek resting on her knees while her body shook with sobs._

 _"Are you okay?" Draco asked, feeling like an idiot when she was clearly not okay._

 _Her head jerked up and Draco swallowed a lump in his throat when he saw her dark brown eyes blazing at him, she was clearly surprised to see him there but that didn't stop her anger at being caught in such a weak looking position._

 _"Get out," she whispered, pointing a shaking finger at the door._

 _Draco didn't move._

 _They stared at each other in near silence for a moment, the only sound Granger was making was a slight sniffling and Draco was about to open his mouth to ask if she needed help before she suddenly jumped to her feet and slipped around him. Hermione Granger ripped the door open and was running away from him down the hall before he could even blink._

 _Draco was left standing alone for a few moments before following her out, wondering just what had happened to make her seek out an empty classroom to cry in._

Narcissa watched Hermione crawl back into her bed and pull the blankets up to her chin.

"Are you ill?" she asked the younger witch, concern etching her features. Hermione was quite pale and had dark rings underneath her eyes, her cheeks damp with tears and her hair was straggly and unkempt as she shivered.

"I'm fine."

"You are clearly not fine, Hermione. Please tell me what's happened."

Hermione gave a very unladylike snort of laughter and then an almost insane peal of laughter.

"I knew that staying here was going to be a challenge, but I didn't expect to be accosted by your darling son as soon as I was."

"What do you mean by accosted?" Narcissa asked curiously, completely ignoring the slight made against Draco.

"I don't exactly appreciate being reminded that I am nothing. I don't need to be treated that way by someone I haven't even set eyes on in four years. I know that I have nothing in my life and that I'm no saint, and I know I have no one who really cares. I don't however, expect someone to tell me to make things easier on the world by allowing him to obliviate me to send me packing back to the muggle world where I belong."

Narcissa looked as though someone had slapped her and in the hallway Draco rubbed a hand over his face in pure, unadulterated shame. He jumped about two feet off the floor when he felt someone touch his arm. Severus. The dark haired man gripped Draco above the elbow and pulled him down the hall and away from his eavesdropping post.

"You don't have 'nothing' dear, you have friends who care about you. We're here to ensure your safety. You're a young beautiful witch who has a full life ahead of her."

Hermione cut Narcissa's rant short with another snort.

"You have no idea what the life ahead of me holds, Narcissa, and neither do I, but if I were to make a guess I'd say it's probably nothing good. I'd say that it would probably be very much like my life up this point."

Hermione was purposely being vague, she knew that Narcissa really didn't know anything at all about her.

"I know you're completely grown up now, Hermione," Narcissa started, "but it would be a lie if I said I never wanted a daughter. I would be thrilled if you would allow me to be there for you in any way you need me. If you need someone to talk to, please feel free to talk to me."

Hermione stayed silent and continued to stare at the nearest wall.

"Did my son actually offer to Obliviate you?"

Hermione's breath hitched, which in itself was enough of an answer for Narcissa.

"Hermione… if you need to talk to someone, please, please talk to me."

"My parents died three years ago, did you know that?" Her resolve crumbling in an instant. The tone Narcissa was using was enough to make her begin to cry again, but instead she decided to launch into the story that barely anyone knew.

"No, dear. I had no idea."

"In a car crash. A drunk driver hit them and their car careened off of the highway and into a small pond. Not small enough, unfortunately. They drowned before the drunk had even managed to call 911."

Narcissa didn't know what a lot of those words meant, but she knew for certain what 'drowned' meant.

"When I found out, I was eighteen years old, fresh from a war and trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do with my life. Everything was put on hold while I planned their funeral, packed and sold their house, and found myself somewhere to live."

Hermione wasn't planning on spilling everything out like this, but once she began talking she was unable to stop.

"I was never a popular girl in school, and the 'fame' that came after the war wasn't something I wanted to deal with. People would pretend to be my friend just so they could be noticed themselves, men would grope at me and try to bed me just for the conquest. I had two friends… eighteen years old and two whole friends to call my own; Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and neither were really there for me when I needed them. Harry was busy planning his wedding with Ginny and Ron was out living it up with the fame he had finally achieved. My point is, I was alone.

"I got an inheritance when my parents died, plus I got the money from their house and also selling their dental practice. I bought a small flat and stayed there. I didn't go out much, I didn't work, and I kept to myself. I saw my two friends maybe once a week, but that was it. I feel like most of my life has been… just bad luck. I have bad luck, and that's that.

"I don't know what Draco has told you about Hogwarts, but there were instances there where my luck was clear as a bell, and unfortunately for me it was only Draco that really knew about some of the things that had happened to me – and not because I told him in the beginning. I had the type of luck where if something awful or embarrassing happened to me, it was always Draco who just so happened to be there to witness it, or to find me afterward, and unfortunately for me, there were a whopping three students in our school who were nice to me, so the instances were aplenty.

"Bad Luck, Narcissa. Then before I was shipped here I started getting letters. Demeaning, demoralizing, awful letters. Letters that explained to me in great detail about how I don't deserve to be in the wizarding world, especially not with my 'stolen' magic. How I was going to be attacked gruesomely before I was murdered. Actually – "

Hermione threw the blankets back and Narcissa watched her cautiously, worried about the girls mindset. She rushed to the vanity table and pulled a small drawer out, ripping out two pieces of parchment and stumbling back to her bed. She threw the letter and photograph at Narcissa, "Just read it for yourself."

"Hermione, I don't know if – "

"Just read it."

Narcissa looked at the letter in her trembling hand and started to read it slowly, terrified for the girl sitting before her just from reading the text. Specific words like 'Rope' 'Blade' and 'Rape' jumped off the page immediately, and Narcissa had to slow herself down so she could read the entire letter. Once she had completed it she dropped it on the floor immediately and looked next at the photograph, which she flung away from her hand the moment the loop played through the first time.

"I got that letter the evening I came to your home, the rest have been taken away from me as evidence."

Narcissa had no words.

"So, the whole reason for me telling you these things and showing you that is because your son came to me in the corridor three nights ago and basically confirmed all of my worst suspicions about myself. He brought up feelings in me that I hadn't felt in a long time and treated me in a way I never thought I'd experience from him, I thought that since he actually does know plenty of things about me that he wouldn't be so horrible and harsh, I was stupid enough to think that I mattered to him, even a little bit."

"Get up," Narcissa demanded suddenly, and Hermione obeyed just out of shock at the woman's tone.

The blonde witch grabbed the brunette's arm and pulled her directly out of the bedroom, down the hall to the bathroom. She threw the door open and pushed Hermione inside.

"Shower. Clean yourself up. I'm going to find my son and when I get back I at least expect you back in your room ready to come down for dinner."

"Narcissa, I am seriously not in the mood to sit at the table for a cheerful little family meal."

"I did not ask if you if you were in the mood. I'll be back shortly."

Hermione stood in the bathroom door, watching Narcissa stalk away with purpose and figured she would probably be better off to just listen.

/

"What are you doing?" Severus hissed the second they were around the corner.

"I'm trying to listen and see exactly what it was I did to Hermione, not that you would even know what I'm talking about, since you've just arrived."

"Your mother explained it to me in her Patronus, and why don't you know what you did to that poor girl? Oh wait, let me guess. Too drunk."

Draco stayed silent, walking beside Severus in the direction of the study that used to belong to his father.

"This is beginning to become a problem with you, Draco, and it needs to stop now."

Draco scoffed.

"I'm serious. If you're causing issues like this for no reason and don't even remember what you said, it's a problem. It stops now."

"No reason?! She… she…" Draco was spluttering, now, and waving his hands in the air.

"She left you, yes, I know."

"Severus," Draco said in a warning voice, his eyes narrowing instantly.

"She was seventeen and had a ridiculous amount of things that were coming to fruition, Draco, you can hardly blame her for doing what was right. Especially when you were still, technically, a Death Eater – "

"I don't want to talk about this," Draco snapped, barging into the study and throwing himself down into an armchair.

Severus didn't respond and they both fell into silence, both of them thinking their own thoughts.

Draco was pissed, to put it bluntly, about everything that had to do with Hermione at that moment in time, and he found it easier to be mean and hateful toward her than to bring up their past, and she truthfully did still annoy the piss out of him in a moment.

"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Narcissa screamed as she exploded through the door, causing both Draco and Severus to flinch as the woman stormed into the study.

Neither answered her.

"Draco! I'm talking to you!" the blond wizard blanched at his mother's tone.

"I haven't lost my mind, no."

"Do you have any idea what that girl up there has been through in the last few years? And to say the things that you said to her?! You must be insane. And what is she talking about, bad luck and you always being around? I haven't been informed about any of this!"

Draco decided it would be in his best interest if he just kept his mouth shut and inspected his shoes, he didn't really feel like he needed to inform his mother of everything that had happened between him and the witch during their school years. She knew most of the things that brought about the change in him, anyway, so she shouldn't really be complaining.

"Narcissa," Severus started, standing up with concern in his voice and features.

Draco looked back at his mother and was surprised to see that she had two twin tear tracks running down her cheeks.

"I'm completely disappointed in you, Draco. There should never be a circumstance in your life when you tell someone that you'll gladly obliviate them so they can go back to their rightful place. You have no idea what's been happening with her recently,"

"I don't care what's been happening," Draco spat suddenly, annoyed. Even though he did care about everything she had been through, back then and now. He had been around for all of it when they were younger, he had provided the shoulder that she cried on and she knew back then that he cared. A lot. Draco felt awful for saying the things he had said to her, though, that was harsh – even for him.

"Watch your tone," Severus snarled.

"Go get ready for dinner," Narcissa snapped at her son, who didn't need to be told twice.

"Is everything alright?" Severus asked, moving around his desk to stand before his girlfriend.

"I read a letter."

"A letter?"

"One of the letters that Hermione has been receiving from the serial killer."

"That bad?"

"I can't even explain it to you. That poor girl…" Narcissa gave Severus a shorter version of what she had been told by Hermione, and had the distinct feeling that he knew what Hermione was referring to about her time in school.

He didn't share the information though.

"I better go if you're getting ready for dinner. I'll come back tonight."

"I think we can inform her of your place in our family soon enough," Narcissa replied, moving forward into Severus's embrace.

/

Narcissa knocked on Hermione's door lightly before opening it a crack, glad to see the girl was wearing a sundress and brushing her hair.

"You look better already" Narcissa said, smiling.

Hermione dabbed on some lip gloss, smiling back and accompanying the older witch downstairs.

/

Dinner was tense. 'Tense' was actually a massive understatement.

Hermione stared at her plate most of the time while words between mother and son floated around her, but she could distinctly hear the stiffness in their tones.

After eating a total of six bites, Hermione asked if she could be excused.

"Actually, dear, I was hoping you would accompany me for a walk around the gardens. You've been cooped up much too long."

Hermione nodded.

"Wonderful!"

Draco scowled and left the table without even requesting permission.

Hermione grimaced.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Just a fair warning that this chapter alludes to rape. There's nothing explicit but I felt i should give out a warning now instead of inadvertently hurting someone's feelings or something.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Three**

"I really just wanted to alleviate your fears about not being wanted here. I love that boy, Hermione, with my entire heart and soul, but sometimes he is just the biggest bloody prat I could ever imagine," Narcissa said as they made their way around the gardens.

Hermione laughed out loud at that, especially because she had never really stopped feeling the same way.

"You do have to understand though, dear, that Draco had a very confused upbringing. I'm not going to go into detail about it but I almost feel as though I should inform you about Lucius. Lucius was – "

"Cruel."

"Well, yes. He wasn't a good father, bless his soul, to Draco at all. He wanted what he wanted and that was that."

Hermione already knew all of this, but she wasn't sure she wanted Narcissa to know just how close she and Draco were when they were younger.

"Draco was subjected to plenty of punishments at his father's hand and I think that as he was getting older he was feeling more and more embarrassed about it all. He wanted to break free from everything, the stereotypes, the prejudice, he just didn't know how to do it and still ensure that Lucius would… well, _love_ isn't the right word, but care for him as a son. That was something Draco was striving toward his entire childhood. I guess he just ended up no longer caring."

 _Not soon enough_ , Hermione thought to herself, turning her face away from Narcissa for a moment.

"I do understand, Narcissa. I truly do. I just really hope that I can avoid him for the time being except during meals."

Narcissa nodded slowly in agreeance, even though she had a feeling that neither Draco nor Hermione actually wanted that to happen. Apparently they had some sort of history and she was just sadly misinformed about it. Severus knew, though, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

They were just entering the manor from their mostly silent walk around the gardens when a floo call request came through. Narcissa ushered Hermione toward the staircase quickly, unsure of who was trying to contact the Malfoys.

"Come ahead through," they heard Draco say clearly. "It's Potter," he called into the hallway before Hermione could scurry too far away.

Hermione grinned and hurried into the sitting room.

"Hermione!" Harry said loudly, rushing forward and pulling her into a tight embrace, which was held much too long for her comfort. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Hermione lied, extracting herself from Harry's arms and retreating a few steps, "How are you?"

"Well, actually," and the change in Harry's demeanor caught everyone off guard. "There's been another murder."

Hermione groaned and lifted her hands to rest on her cheeks. "Who?"

"Colin Creevey."

"Merlin," Hermione breathed.

"Do you have any leads?"

"Nothing."

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"Thanks. We'll figure it out sooner or later. He's going to mess up at some point."

"He?"

"That's not even for sure, but his notes do have a masculine tone to them."

Hermione knew that well enough.

"Was Creevey in hiding?" Draco asked suddenly, staring at Harry in a way that reminded Hermione of the two men's mutual hate when they went to Hogwarts; she unconsciously took another step away from her raven haired friend.

"He was."

"How the hell was he murdered if he was in a safe house?"

"As far as we can tell, he wandered away of his own accord in the dead of night."

"And the killer just happened to be there?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"We just don't know, yet."

"Quite the investigation."

"Don't even start on me, Malfoy. You have no idea what's going on out there."

"No. I don't. I'm too busy putting up with her bullshit here," Draco said, gesturing to Hermione, who immediately felt her blood pressure spike. How dare he?!

"Don't even, Draco, I've been here for less than two weeks and am impressed with myself that I haven't struck you yet. Like I told you the other day, don't even act like you know the first thing about me, now."

"I know you have dirty blood."

Everyone in the room gasped collectively and Draco even looked surprised by the words that had come from his mouth. He couldn't even understand what was wrong with him, why he would utter that sentence. He hadn't had any particular feelings about blood in _years_ and he and Hermione both knew that he had absolutely zero problem with her blood in particular, so why would he say such a thing? He instantly regretted it.

He couldn't meet her eyes, even though he knew for a fact that she was staring at him. He couldn't stand to see the pain in them that he had most likely put there; with those thoughts in his mind he wasn't expecting the words that came out of her mouth.

"It's funny that you should say that now, Draco, because as far as I can recall you never had an actual problem with my blood, ever. Not since we were twelve years old and were learning the cruel realities of the world, even though that was the same year you introduced me to blood prejudice in the first place."

Silence met her words. Draco finally looked up into her tearful eyes, tears she was using all of her willpower to keep beneath her lashes; Hermione could tell immediately that he was sorry for what he said, but sometimes sorry just didn't cut it. That was the second time he was horrible to her in a few days and she was almost at the end of her rope.

"What do you mean, when you were twelve, Hermione? You and Malfoy barely knew each other back then, well not outside of throwing insults."

Hermione didn't answer, instead she fled the room and ran outside, slamming the door to the house behind her.

Harry turned to Draco with a quizzical look on his face, looking for some sort of explanation to what Hermione had said.

"Thanks for stopping by with all of your illuminating information, Potter," Draco drawled, following Hermione from the room and going to his wing.

/

 _Fourteen year old Draco was sneaking through the halls of Hogwarts after curfew. He had been in the library researching something he needed for potions, but he waited until after hours because he needed to get the information from the restricted section and didn't have a permission slip._

 _He was skulking along down a dimly lit corridor when he came across a rather large mess. A suit of armour had been knocked over and a tapestry had been ripped down from the wall. Draco stopped in his tracks and looked around, angry now because he was sure that this had occurred fairly recently and Filch was probably on his way to check the disturbance now. School hadn't even been in for a month yet, so there was no way he was going to be caught out after hours already. He took a few more steps and stopped short again, sure that it was blood dotting the floor in front of his shoes._

 _"What in Merlin's name…" he whispered, straining his ears now._

 _He could hear footsteps in the distance and took that as his cue to leave. He started to take hurried steps and for some reason just happened to look into a niche in the wall where a giant vase was standing. He could clearly see a leg and arm poking out from one side of the vase and pulled up short. He dodged into the niche and his eyes widened and heart stopped for a moment when he saw Hermione Granger standing there, terrified._

 _Her breath was ragged and she had blood dripping from her nose and the corner of her mouth. He didn't ask questions, just grabbed her hand and ran, pulling her along behind him._

 _She seemed to be having trouble running, but she managed to keep her strides even enough. Once they were a fair distance away Draco pulled her into an empty classroom, closing and locking the door behind him._

 _"What are you doing out still?" he asked, his eyes taking in the damage as she gingerly perched on the edge of a desk._

 _"I was just… thinking."_

 _"Thinking, while strolling around the castle after hours?"_

 _"Yes. What are you still doing out?" She asked accusingly._

 _"I was in the library. What happened to you?" he asked, moving closer to her and reaching for her hand blindly._

 _"I was attacked, obviously," she answered, and Draco knew her well enough at this point to know that she was fighting back tears; her voice was wobbly and her breathing still wasn't as even as he would like it to be._

 _"By who?" he asked, clearly angry._

 _"Some Ravenclaw's."_

 _"Hermione… why?"_

 _"I don't know," she said, and touched two fingers to her bleeding lip before flinching slightly at the contact, "because of my blood, I guess…" and she held the two now bloody fingers out toward Draco, who caught sight of them and didn't move another inch._

 _He could do nothing but stare at those two fingers._

 _Draco and Hermione were… friends… for lack of a better word, because situations seemed to keep throwing them together; he felt a fair amount of pity for the girl who actually reminded him a lot of himself. Draco knew that the things his father had been telling him weren't exactly correct, because if muggles were as stupid and useless as his father continued to tell him then there was no way Hermione should have been beating him in every subject._

 _What he wasn't prepared for, though, was seeing her blood._

 _Her bright red blood… the exact same colour as his. He had been constantly told, his_ entire life _that muggles had dirty, disgusting blood that was muddy and thick, unimaginable compared to the pure blood running through his own veins._

 _If that was so true… why was it the_ exact same _?!_

 _His world came crashing down around him in that moment, the moment that he reached forward and rubbed some of her blood onto his own fingertips for closer inspection._

 _"Draco?" Hermione asked, and her voice seemed distant_.

He woke up with a gasp, and he could remember that night very clearly now that he was conscious again. Hermione had been attacked by some Ravenclaw's, as she had said, because of her bloodline, which she had also stated. He helped her clean herself up in some weird daze before sending her on her way back to her common room; if he had been more lucid he would have escorted her to ensure her safety, but he wasn't all there at that moment in time.

He had been lied to. He already knew that he had been deceived about many things regarding muggles, but everyone put such emphasis on their blood.

Draco had found out a few days later, after plenty of inquiring, that the Ravenclaw's who had attacked his Gryffindor friend were, in fact, male.

He took care of that little problem in a timely matter. Too bad the offenders didn't realize exactly why Draco Malfoy had hexed them in the corridors.

He swung his legs off the side of his bed and dropped his head into his hands for a moment, rubbing at his hair as he took a deep, steadying breath. He needed to see her, now. It was 3 am, but he still needed to see her. He stood from his bed and grabbed his dressing gown from the couch at the bottom of his bed and on stealthy feet, headed straight to Hermione's room.

It was, of course, unlocked. Draco shook his head ruefully before opening her door silently. She was there, a small lump on the mattress, and moments after he closed her bedroom door he realized she was groaning. Dreaming. Was she reliving memories as well?

"Draco," she mumbled, and he thought for a moment that she was awake and saw him there; but then he realized if that was true she would have probably been a little angrier to see him in her bedroom.

"It was Flint," she whispered, and Draco's feet went still on her plush carpet immediately.

 _Sixteen year old Draco was wandering, he couldn't stand to be in the common room for one more second that night. Pansy was, of course, throwing herself at him; he had told her at least fourteen times that he didn't want anything to do with her, but she still continued to hint that she'd love, and also felt she deserved, some sort of jewellery from him._

 _His heart belonged to another, and he was grateful that his parents had decided when he was still a child that he would have his own choice in who he married, because if he had been promised to Pansy Parkinson he probably would have thrown himself from the astronomy tower years ago. He would never have an understanding with that particular witch, no matter how much she hinted and threw herself at him. He was pretty much done with Pureblood custom anyway, considering he was dating a muggleborn._

 _He was a Prefect, and therefore he was used to patrolling the castle late at night. If he hadn't been he probably wouldn't even have found her, but he was almost habitually checking the classrooms that were mostly unused in the deepest part of the dungeons. He thought he had heard loud, lumbering footsteps down in this hallway, more than one pair, and that was strange enough as it was._

 _His wand was lit and he was just sticking his head and arm into every room and doing a quick check, but his heart almost stopped and he was rooted to the spot in the sixth classroom he looked in._

 _"Hermione," he breathed, he would recognize her anywhere, especially if she was wearing her hair down._

 _Down it was, and tucked into her arms as she used the corner walls of the classroom to prop her body up, her arm resting against a wall and her head resting on said arm._

 _She appeared to be sleeping._

 _His heart restarted at the same time he was able to move his legs, and he rushed forward and crouched in front of her, confused as to why she was even in this part of the dungeon. Especially alone._

 _His prefect rounds schedule floated to the front of his memory at that point, he remembered now that she was on patrol tonight, but she definitely shouldn't have been alone. And that's when, to his complete and utter horror, he realized that her clothes were torn, her face was cut fairly badly and she was bleeding from the numerous cuts and scratches littering her body. He noticed her wand on the floor beside her, snapped in two._

 _He saw red._

 _"Ennervate," he muttered, trying to keep it together as his girlfriend slowly opened her eyes. The pain that flared to life inside of them upon wakening let him know that she was, in fact, extremely hurt, and before he could even ask her any sort of question as to what had occurred she burst into heart wrenching sobs._

 _She was hyperventilating and he knew that she wanted to reach for him but it seemed like her arm wasn't working properly. He reached forward and rubbed her hair, hoping there wasn't anything on her head that would cause her pain to the touch._

 _She leaned forward and all but fell into his lap, and that's when her sobs stopped, mainly because the pain she was in seemed to be much worse in this position._

 _"What the hell happened?!" Draco practically yelled._

 _"It was Flint," Hermione rasped out, and Draco almost abandoned her in that room so he could go have a word with the moron. "And Montague."_

 _"Hermione," Draco said, gently moving her away from him so he could take in her injuries better, "let me heal you a bit, okay?"_

 _She nodded, and Draco decided his first course of action was her arm, it was at a strange angle and he had a serious feeling that it was broken. He laid her on her back on the cold stone floor and started his mission, he healed her broken radius and ulna in her left arm (a nasty break, and one not easy to achieve, in his opinion), two cracked ribs, three broken fingers on one hand and two on the other, numerous cuts, and her lip where it looked as though her own tooth had went through it. He checked her head to make sure that she didn't have any signs of a concussion and found two rather large lumps, which he also tended to. The entire time he was tending to her, he felt strangely detached and clinical; Hermione had thankfully passed out as her arm bones were snapped back into place._

 _Once he was finished the extensive healing that he had been studying for years he felt extremely tired, but he knew he had to wake Hermione up and get the full story of what happened. He was just reaching out his wand to wake her up again when he actually took in the state of her clothes; her tights were missing, which he knew was totally wrong because he had watched her put them back on earlier that evening, her skirt seemed to be off kilter, the seam was in the front instead of on the side, and her shirt seemed to be missing a couple buttons and had a few tears in it._

 _He looked around frantically to see if he could find her tights and when he saw them a few feet behind him, somehow wrapped around the leg of a desk and torn apart, he also realized her bra was there too, the straps ripped._

 _He reeled backward, toward the garments and away from Hermione, feeling sick to his stomach as he fully understood what had happened. He couldn't wake her up until he had composed himself, because he knew now that his gorgeous, loving, generally happy girlfriend had been raped in this room. Raped by two older men who were in his own house and their final year at school; they had clearly taken it upon themselves to inflict as much damage as they could without being caught. He closed his eyes and held his head, taking deep breaths through his nose and exhaling through his mouth; he couldn't believe he was dodging Pansy's advances while this was happening to the only girl he would ever care about._

 _He took a few moments longer than he probably needed in order to get himself together and fight away the nausea so he could wake her up, and once he did she immediately scrambled onto his lap and into his arms, her tears soaking his shoulder as her body shook with sobs. Draco felt his own eyes tear up in that instant, not that he would ever admit it to anyone but her._

 _"What happened? Why were you patrolling alone?" he asked with a suspiciously hoarse voice._

 _"I was supposed to be patrolling with Jack from Hufflepuff, but he didn't show, and by the time I stopped waiting for him I figured it would be too late to get anyone to come," Hermione answered slowly, with many hesitations and sniffles._

 _"You should never be in these dungeons alone," Draco scolded, but he knew now that the scolding was much, much too late._

 _She didn't even bother answering._

 _"Tell me what happened."_

 _"I was patrolling down by the Potions classroom and I heard footsteps, I was turning to see who it was and I think they knocked me out, because the next thing I remember is waking up in this room."_

 _"Were you knocked out for a long time?" Draco asked, almost hopefully._

 _"No," Hermione said, and was overcome by a new round of tears, "but I fought, Draco… I fought them as best as I could."_

 _There was a pretty good chance that Flint and Montague wouldn't make it to the next morning._

Draco snapped out of his memory and blinked a few times, trying to remember what he was doing. It sounded as though Hermione was sobbing on her bed, so he moved forward and sat on the edge beside her.

 _How must it feel to still be terrified of that night?_ He asked himself, reaching forward to brush a couple bunches of hair out of her face. His fingers touched her skin and he smiled slightly, it was exactly as he remembered, firm to the touch and silky smooth.

Hermione's hand suddenly shot up and gripped his wrist at the same moment her eyes snapped open. She opened her mouth, maybe to scream, but she realized at the last moment who was sitting at her side.

"Draco," she breathed, dropping her hand instantly as he let his own fall from her face. She settled comfortably back into her bed, but only for a moment, because then she remembered that she was beyond pissed at him and that he wasn't her teenaged boyfriend anymore. Oh no, definitely not.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had a dream," he said, reaching his hand for her face again where he traced her eyebrows in an extremely intimate gesture, "remember when I found you behind that ridiculous vase when we were fourteen?"

"Yes," Hermione said, almost questioningly, while Draco lifted his fingers from her eyebrows and started following the path of her jawline instead.

"That was the first day I ever saw your blood, and that totally fucked me up. I was so confused, and I was beyond angry because that's when I really realized the depth to which I had been lied to."

"I remember you had a hard time helping me that night, you were distracted and you had some of my blood on your fingertips… you'd be doing something and then just stop completely and stand there and stare at those fingers. I didn't understand what was happening though. Not then, anyway."

"I knew then."

"Knew what?"

And just like that, Draco snapped out of his reminiscent mood and pulled his hand away from her face. His face darkened and he turned his eyes away from hers, shielding himself.

"How often do you dream of it?" he asked, and he felt her stiffen almost imperceptibly beside him.

"Dream of what?" she asked, before rolling away from him, giving him her back,

"You know what, Hermione. The night those two… fuckers… did that to you."

She shrugged, and Draco knew that just like that their conversation was over.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, that night," he said quietly, and Hermione's eyes teared up by how pained his voice still sounded. She could remember so clearly how hurt and angry he had been, all because she was so hurt and angry.

Before she could get herself together enough to reply he was gone, her bedroom door closing almost silently behind him.

Neither slept another wink that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited this story so far! It means the world to me!**

 **Chapter Four**

Hermione couldn't help but notice that after the night Draco had visited her in her room he had been going out of his way to avoid her. He was suddenly working late and missing dinner and always had something to do on weekends. She saw very little of her ex-boyfriend over the following eight weeks… not that she could blame him. They had a very intense past, and it wasn't something that was easy to stop thinking about, especially when they were all of a sudden seeing each other constantly.

She was shocked, however, when one Severus Snape joined Hermione and Narcissa for dinner a couple weeks after Draco's avoidance started. Not that she disliked the man, she had just never expected to see him… dating.

Hermione really wished that Draco had been speaking to her the evening after his mother had bought her clothes, though, because then she probably would have told him about the letter that had arrived for her on her vanity table. The same as the last ones, except this time it contained numerous photos of her in different states of undress and different areas of her home. One that specifically haunted her was a loop of her sleeping in her bed before she came to the manor. She seemed to be having some sort of nightmare, judging by her facial expression, and she suddenly flipped onto her back. The movement pulled the blanket from one side of her body, so she was completely visible from her left foot all the way up to her shoulder. Her entire leg was exposed to the hip, showing the dainty pair of lace knickers adorning her body and she had been wearing a white wife-beater as a pajama top, her breast obvious in the thin material, her dusky nipple pushing up to indent it. It played on a continuous loop: sleeping, frowning, and twisting around until her blanket slid off.

She wished she could tell Draco, but she hadn't seen him in weeks. Instead of informing anyone, she stuffed the letter and corresponding stack of photos into the same drawer she hid the first one. She wasn't about to be sent away from another place she was finally (mostly) comfortable.

/

 **"** Hermione!" Narcissa exclaimed, joining the witch on the pool deck. Hermione was taking advantage of the good weather while it lasted. They'd had more sun than usual this summer, but she knew better than to expect it to last a long time.

"Good afternoon," she smiled at Narcissa, "Sorry I missed breakfast, I was having a bit of a lie in."

Narcissa batted her comment away with a dainty hand before grinning at her again.

"Now, I know you've tried to deny me the fun I've wanted to have," Narcissa started, and Hermione sat up quickly, put on edge, "But I was in Diagon Alley today and couldn't help but to buy you a few things."

"Narcissa – "

"Now please don't be upset, but you really do need a few things."

Hermione let out a breath but decided to just accept the few things Narcissa had picked for her.

"Where are they?" Hermione asked, and was glad she hadn't denied the older witch. The smile on her face was contagious and Hermione instantly found herself grinning back. She swung her legs off the patio chair and stood up, wrapping her beach cover-up around her hips and tying it tight before turning to Narcissa, who was staring at her.

"I wish I could still have a figure like yours," the witch said, eyeing Hermione's bikini.

The younger witch suddenly felt very self-conscious and wished she had more than just a bikini wrap with her.

"Don't be silly, dear," Narcissa said, beaming again. Hermione was fairly sure that Narcissa could read her mind sometimes.

"I've had everything sent to your room."

They headed indoors, walking and chatting companionably to Hermione's bedroom. In the two months that Hermione had spent at the manor Harry had stopped by once and Ron hadn't shown up at all, which was somewhat disappointing but at least she had Narcissa, and sometimes even Severus.

Narcissa had been wonderful company and Hermione was almost looking at her as another mother figure. She had desperately wanted one since her own mother had passed and she had always assumed Molly Weasley would take that role, but the red headed woman had never stepped up to the plate the way that Hermione had expected her to.

"I can't wait until you see!" Narcissa said, a wide smile on her beautiful face.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but Draco came around the corner and met them at the bottom of the staircase, so Hermione closed her mouth and ducked her head slightly. She knew he didn't want to see or speak to her, judging by the amount of effort he was putting into _not_ being at the house.

She missed Draco's incredulous stare as he took in the sight of her in a bikini, not that it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before… it had just been a while.

Narcissa smiled inwardly, but Draco snapped out of it moments later and asked his mother what they were doing, speaking as though Hermione wasn't there, which was fine with her.

Narcissa explained that she had bought some things for Hermione so that she could look like a 'proper young lady should', which prompted a snort from Draco and a tiny smile that Hermione directed to her feet.

"Good luck with that," Draco said mockingly before turning into his own bedroom.

"Just ignore him, dear," Narcissa said sweetly.

"Oh, don't worry. I do," but the rest of Hermione's reply was lost when she entered her bedroom before Narcissa and took in the ridiculous amount of bags scattered around.

"I thought you said a couple things?"

"Oh, Hermione. You don't even understand how bored I was before you came here. I meant what I said, I've always wanted a daughter. Well, to tell you a little secret… I was pregnant before Draco. It was to be a girl but… it just never worked out."

Hermione thought that was a strange way to phrase it but just gave the older witch a sad little smile before she turned to the first bag in front of her.

"Weren't people wondering why you were purchasing clothes like this?"

"No. No one questions anything I do, Hermione. And I also may have told people that I was buying things for a relative who had a younger daughter in France. No one will question it."

Hermione pulled a nightgown out of the first bag and her eyes almost popped out of her head when she realized it was pure lace and wouldn't end much past her butt cheeks. Her cheeks flamed.

"I don't think I'll be putting anything like this to use," Hermione said truthfully, finding it hard to meet Narcissa's eyes.

"I think it's always good to feel confident with one's self, Hermione, even when alone."

They spent the next hour going through the bags. Narcissa had ended up buying Hermione fifteen formal dresses, and twenty more casual ones. She had picked out a ridiculous amount of casual wear that was still classy and all held designer labels, as well as four new bikinis, and an insane amount of knickers. The amount of shoes that Hermione continued to pull out of bags was absurd, and then there was also the costume jewellery.

Hermione decided it was a good thing that none of it contained authentic stones.

Crazy woman.

Narcissa had also taken it upon herself to buy Hermione expensive hair potions to keep her curls sleek and shiny, straightening potions, and makeup.

"This is… too much."

"Don't be silly! Oh, my goodness look at the time, you should jump in the shower and get that pool water off of your skin – don't forget to try your new shower stuff! The soap is divine, Hermione, I swear to you. Dinner is in less than an hour, dear."

"Narcissa!" Hermione called, as the woman had left her room and moved down the hall already. Hermione went out and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you. For everything."

"Don't mention it, Hermione," Narcissa said, feeling mortified when she felt tears prick her eyes. "Less than an hour," she reminded, breaking their hug and rushing away.

Hermione watched her with a small smile on her face.

/

Hermione seated herself at the dinner table, feeling exceptionally awkward when she saw Draco enter the room, apparently they were to be graced with his presence tonight. Severus was seated at the other head of the table, since he had started to dine with them every evening. Hermione almost wondered if he lived in the manor as well, but she didn't think it was her business to ask such a question.

Hermione finally felt as though she fit in with the family around her. Well at least in looks, anyway. She felt incredibly classy at the dining table tonight in her emerald green dress that was tight in the bodice but poofed out into a gorgeous, almost ballerina like, skirt. It wasn't as dramatic or possibly skimpy as a tutu but it definitely had the feel of one. She had paired it with a long necklace that disappeared into her cleavage and had worn ballerina flats on her feet, because she honestly felt they were fitting. Her hair was sleek and shiny from one of the potions that Narcissa had bought for her and her skin smelled pleasant from the soap that Narcissa had insisted was 'divine'.

Hermione had to agree.

She hadn't worn much more makeup than she did on a regular basis, but she felt that if someone had walked by the dining room without really knowing who was seated inside that they wouldn't even give her a second look. It felt wonderful to fit in somewhat.

"I bought you one more thing, Hermione," Narcissa stated, and Hermione's eyes flashed up to hers quickly before she shook her head politely.

"You've really done enough."

"This is just a small gift and I really hope you'll use it."

Narcissa pulled a small book out from behind her and passed it over to Hermione. It was just a plain black book.

"Now I know what you're thinking. You're too old for a diary," Draco snorted and interrupted his mother, who glared at him before continuing, "but this is for you to use as… therapy, let's say. I think if you write down the things that you feel you need to share… well I just think it'll be helpful."

Hermione stared at Narcissa for a moment before she felt her throat constricting in a way that warned her the waterworks were going to start. She looked down at the book in her hand so she could try and get a handle on herself. She had no idea why, after all of the things that Narcissa had bought for her today, that this little book was the one making her feel like crying, but it was.

It was just so incredibly thoughtful.

"Thank you," Hermione said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Narcissa just smiled and took a bite of food.

"Have you done something different with your hair?" Severus asked suddenly, and Hermione turned to him in slight surprise. He didn't speak to her much.

"Obviously, Severus. It doesn't look like demented owls are using it as a nest anymore."

Hermione was pleasantly surprised to note that those words held absolutely no sting.

"Oh please, it hasn't been that bad since fourth year," Hermione said cheekily.

Everyone at the table, Draco included, let out tiny laughs at her remark.

"But to answer your question, yes. I just used a tiny bit of hair potion today and it calmed down the frizz some."

"Some?" Draco asked, "It looks like you've lost a good two pounds of hair off of your head."

Hermione rolled her eyes before taking a dainty bite, glad that she and Draco had finally found some sort of civility again. She didn't take it to heart anyway, because she knew for a fact that Draco secretly adored her hair when they were younger.

"Well I think you look fabulous," Narcissa said, smiling widely.

Hermione smiled back.

Draco was fairly certain he was going to have a mild stroke from the dazzling grin on the girl's face, it was something he hadn't seen for years and he truthfully forgot how much it affected him.

Not two minutes later a floo call was trying to connect.

"Oh, Draco, please take Miss. Granger out of here until we know who it is."

"I think she's fairly capable of taking herself," he answered Severus snidely as a small house elf rushed forward and removed Hermione's place setting.

"I'm definitely capable, but thank you," Hermione said, hurrying for the door that lead to the kitchen. She huddled behind the door, waiting to see if it was safe for her to show herself or not.

"Professor Snape," she heard a surprised voice say, and she just knew it was Ron. She hadn't seen him in over two months.

"You can come out, dear," Narcissa called, and Hermione fled the kitchen quickly.

Ron was there alright, as was Harry.

She was moving toward them happily, but something in their stance slowed her pace a little bit.

"What's happened?" she asked immediately, stopping in front of them. She felt the Malfoy family close in behind her.

Both of her friends were standing in front of her, gaping as though they hadn't laid eyes on her in years.

"What?" she asked self-consciously, touching a hand to her breastbone.

Harry cleared his throat and said, "Uh, nothing," and looked away, while Ron did everything in his power to avoid her eyes.

What just happened?

Hermione could hear Draco scoff behind her and it was easy to imagine that he had just rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Harry spoke suddenly, "We were just dropping by to see how everything's going."

Hermione shrugged, "Pretty good, actually."

"Apparently," Ron said quietly, but Hermione knew that everyone in the room, including herself, heard him so she turned and stared at him closely.

"What do you mean?"

Ron avoided her eyes again, but he had become slightly flushed and Hermione was smart enough to steel herself for his inevitable explosion.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked, but this time directing herself to Harry, who had to clear his throat again before answering.

"There's been another one."

Hermione just let out a breath. "Same situation?" she asked, becoming a little more afraid as she thought about the letter and stack of photos she had hidden in her vanity drawer. No one needed to know about that, though.

"Have you heard anything at all?" Harry asked, concern etched into his voice.

"Nothing," she lied.

"Good, good," Harry said, distractedly, before he let his eyes roam up and down her body in a way that made her take a small step back, "You look really good, Hermione."

Hermione felt her cheeks warm up seconds before Ron seemed to reach the end of his very short tether.

"You're obviously taking advantage of living with the Malfoy's," he burst out angrily, "We sent you here to be protected, not to be dressing up in revealing dresses to obviously try to tempt him," he gestured angrily at Draco, "and maybe even Snape!"

Hermione took another step back in shock, the injustice of his words felt like a slap in the face.

"I'm not trying to tempt anyone!" Hermione snapped back at her fiery friend, "Narcissa took it upon herself to buy me some things because we enjoy a formal dinner every night and I was never dressed up as much as I should have been, not that I need to justify myself to you!"

Ron snorted, "Formal dinner, I can just picture you sitting across from Malfoy having a pleasant chat about what you can spend his riches on next, making sure that he's getting a good eyeful of your cleavage at the same time."

Hermione spluttered in anger and felt the Malfoy family close in around her even tighter, she had no idea where this attack was coming from.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked rudely, "If you knew me at all then you'd know that is something I would never do. I wouldn't exploit myself for anything, especially not money. Draco and I barely speak as it is."

"Oh, her and _Draco_ never speak, Harry."

Harry's cheeks reddened.

"What is your problem!?"

"Maybe we should give you all a few moments," Severus suggested suddenly, and Hermione was grateful but also upset by his suggestion. It felt good to know that they all had her back, but she obviously needed to speak to her friends. Something had happened that she was unaware of, clearly, and whatever it was had somehow pinned her as a bad guy.

The Malfoy mother and son and her old professor vacated the room as Hermione tried to stand her ground.

"You put on these little dresses, have done something with your hair, and you're wearing makeup. You're obviously trying to impress someone," Ron said, the moment the door closed behind Draco.

"You're absurd."

Ron snorted, Harry was looking somewhat contrite.

"What has gotten into you two?!"

"Look Hermione… I've moved out of my place with Ginny."

Hermione's eyes widened. Of everything she had been possibly expecting, it hadn't been that.

"Harry… why?!"

"As if you don't know," Ron said scathingly.

"I don't! I don't know if you've forgotten but I've been here over two months and have only talked to Harry one other time since I've been here!"

"Maybe you'll recall kissing Harry, then, even though he was already married. Ring any bells, Hermione?"

She reeled back, shocked.

"I did not kiss Harry, Ron, I can assure you of that."

"I saw you," the red head hissed.

"You saw wrong, then," Hermione stated stubbornly, crossing her arms across her chest defensively and looking to Harry for support.

She apparently wasn't going to get it.

"Harry already admitted that it happened, Hermione! There's no sense in denying it, and now my sister is devastated. She was always unsure about your feelings toward Harry and that information just proved it all to her. I can't believe I was wasting my feelings on you while you were secretly carrying a torch for my best friend."

Hermione was dumbfounded.

"I don't even know what's happening right now. You came here to tell me about a murder and for some reason I'm being attacked by the two of you about something that I didn't even do?!" She glanced at Harry again, hoping that he would just tell the truth about what had actually happened.

"Stop lying," Ron said brutally, his fists clenched at his sides.

"I'm not lying, Ron! Harry's lying!"

"Why would Harry allow for his marriage to fall apart over a lie?"

"Because Harry was the one who kissed me!"

Ron faltered for a moment, but only a moment, "Bollocks," he said, "Stop lying, Hermione. There are so many things that I've questioned ever since I saw that kiss, so many situations that I looked back on and realized I had been an idiot for not seeing it sooner. I should have noticed it years ago."

Hermione threw her arms up in frustration, this entire situation was ridiculous and she said so.

"Ridiculous!?" Ron exploded, "I wouldn't call ruining a marriage ridiculous!"

"I haven't even been around! How is this my fault?!"

"Fucking whore," Ron hissed, and Hermione was scandalized.

"I'm far from a whore, Ron."

"Go take a good look at yourself in a mirror then Hermione, because that's exactly what you look like."

Anger overwhelmed her because of the injustices being spewed at her.

"I'd rather look like a whore than a penniless beggar, at least I've got some class within me and clothes that are mine, not hand me downs from five brothers before me!"

Ron's hand connected with her face in a harsh slap. She reeled backwards and clutched her cheek in shock, tears flooded her eyes from the pain and humiliation of being struck by someone she had considered her friend for over ten years.

Ron didn't even look sorry, in fact, he looked like he wanted to do it again. Hermione mustered all of her strength and snapped her arm forward, slapping Ron back. Her hit only managed to anger him more and it obviously didn't hurt him in the slightest as his hand rocketed toward her face again, slapping her harder than the first time on the exact same cheek. She went down on one knee this time from the force of the hit and her mouth tasted faintly of blood.

The door was flung open as Hermione burst into tears while hauling herself back up to her feet; she turned wild eyes to her dark haired friend. "Say something, Harry!" she screamed at him hysterically, "You're just going to stand by and watch all of this without a word?!"

Harry looked almost defeated by the situation that had obviously spiralled out of control very quickly and Hermione registered that Draco was standing beside her, holding Ron by the collar of his shirt in tight fists.

"You will never set another hand on her, or any other woman, in my vicinity ever again Weasley!" he thundered, "Now get the fuck out of my house!"

"My pleasure," Ron spat, wrenching his shirt out of Draco's hands as he gave Hermione another hate-filled look before storming toward the fireplace without a backward glance.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, and the pain in his eyes was evident but Hermione ignored it. Harry began making his way to the fireplace in Ron's wake but stopped cold when Hermione said, "I never would have pegged you for a coward, Harry," in the saddest voice he had ever heard.

He didn't look back.

Hermione turned away from Draco with her hand still pressed to her reddened cheek and left the room in a hurry to her own bedroom, where a letter addressed to her was waiting on top of her otherwise empty vanity.

Draco stood awkwardly for a few minutes, reflecting on the fact that he obviously still felt protective over Hermione; Weasley was lucky Draco didn't throttle him for hitting the witch, because as far as he was concerned it was never okay for a male to hit a female, and any male who ever laid a finger on Hermione got what was coming to them… one way or another.

/

Hermione avoided the Malfoy's as much as she could over the next few days, incredibly embarrassed about what had occurred with Harry and Ron. She mostly holed herself up in the back of the library, hovering in the shadows.

She knew it wasn't going to last long though, for Draco came in one evening and started prowling the stacks.

Hermione watched him closely and knew that he wasn't aware she was there because of his relaxed posture. He was actually quite handsome when he wasn't being a complete and utter wanker. That was until he felt her stare and turned toward her, a look of surprise on his face that was quickly shuttered and his face went blank of all emotion.

"Oh, if it isn't Homewrecker Hermione, in the flesh. Been hiding in shame?"

Apparently they were going back to this treatment of each other, now.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she said snootily, going back to her book.

"I heard everything they said."

"Eavesdropping? That seems below you, Draco."

"Luckily for you, if the slapping was any indication about what was to come?"

"Well unfortunately, what you heard was untrue… but you already knew that, didn't you?"

"I just want to hear the story, Hermione."

Hermione watched him closely, wondering if she could still confide in him; wondering if it was a good idea to revert back to telling him things like she had when they were younger. Would it open up a can of worms? This was the boy… well, now man, who knew pretty much everything about her except for the things that had happened while they had been estranged. Maybe it was okay to tell him things, he seemed interested enough anyway.

"Well, as I'm sure you can remember, growing up Ron and Harry were always a little different toward me. They'd want me around, but then they wouldn't be overly nice to me; and, as I know you remember – judging by the look you gave Harry when he was here last time – that he kissed me when I was sixteen and I had to turn him down as gently as possible. Well you know what happened then, but once we left school and the war was over Harry married Ginny pretty much immediately. We were still young, but that's what he claimed he wanted so… they did it. I noticed not too long after their wedding that Harry was beginning to pay attention to me more; I mean more than he had in the few months before and after his wedding. It was inappropriate, but I honestly just tried to ignore it because I didn't want to blow anything out of proportion… I didn't have _you_ anymore, Draco, so Harry was one of my two friends and I didn't want to lose him. One evening Harry, Ron and I were at my flat just hanging out, Ginny was supposed to be there but something came up and she couldn't make it; I really wish she had made it."

Draco was watching Hermione closely and she knew the moment their eyes met that he would believe every word she was about to say. Draco was like that with her; he never doubted her words. Hermione figured it was because he could always tell immediately if she was lying to him.

"At the end of that evening Harry ended up trapping me up against a wall and he started to talk about how he knew he had made a mistake marrying Ginny because he had strong feelings for someone else. I tried to laugh it off and push him away but he ended up just slamming his face into mine and kissing me, he shoved his hands up my shirt and started rubbing my skin, and that's when I knew I really had to stop what was happening. I pushed him away and tried to talk some sense into him, but it was like I wasn't even speaking. He started kissing me again and the second time he managed to get his hands… on me. He was clearly aroused and was moaning and I was so embarrassed. I finally freed myself from his grips and ran to my room, I didn't even go out when they left my place because I was just so mortified about what had happened."

"So that's what Weasley saw? And assumed it was all you?" Draco asked tightly, angry even from the idea of Harry Potter touching his… well… ex-girlfriend.

"I don't think he assumed, I think he was told that it was me."

"Even though he would have seen you fighting him off?"

"Sometimes people just see what they want to see, Draco."

Wasn't that the truth?

"I don't think I thanked you for what you did for me the other night; for coming in when you did. Thanks a lot for that."

"I'll just add it to your bill," Draco said, and Hermione raised her face to his in surprise. He had been avoiding her for weeks, and now suddenly was joking around with her.

Gods, she had missed him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"I'm very sorry about what happened the other night," Hermione said to the table at dinner the night her and Draco made up. She was done hiding. She may have been friendless, parentless, and hiding from a serial killer, but she was done hiding from the people who took her in.

She was a strong, confident woman, dammit, and it was about time she remembered that.

"Don't be sorry, dear, you hardly started it."

"I didn't, but I still feel pretty bad about the circumstances."

"Draco told me that that insufferable Weasley boy struck you," Severus stated in his stiff way, looking at his plate.

Narcissa gasped in shock, and fixed her gaze directly on Hermione.

She was about to open her mouth but instead she grimaced when a floo call was trying to get through. She really wanted to finish her meal, but knew that was her cue to leave.

"Well I doubt it's for me this time," Hermione said, standing from the table and making her way to the kitchens without another word.

She didn't see the worried grey eyes following her departure.

"Blaise!" Draco greeted, probably a lot louder than was necessary, but Hermione huffed and took a seat, knowing it would be a while until she could leave now.

She listened to their mindless chatter with one ear, mostly hearing the rhythm of their voices while she thought about how alone she actually was now.

She sighed and looked around, wondering if it would be safe for her to leave the kitchen through a different door, but they hadn't really talked about a plan and she didn't want to be seen here.

"Remember to stay away from the library, Draco," Narcissa said loudly, causing Hermione's eyebrows to knit together slightly, "The renovations!"

"Of course, Mother. Come Blaise, we can go to the sitting room in my wing. Mugsy?! Bring up some firewhiskey!"

Hermione grimaced, she did not care to run into another inebriated, angry Draco.

/

She was reading a book on Wizarding Etiquette, still decked out in her formal wear when Narcissa entered the library.

"How are you faring?" Narcissa asked politely as she sat on the couch across from Hermione gracefully.

"Pretty good, considering everything that has happened recently."

"I can't believe that that vile boy struck you. Draco nor Severus found it prudent to tell me that, I swear those two keep each other's secrets as though Severus was Draco's father."

Hermione shrugged, trying to act indifferent about the entire matter, but she suddenly found herself wondering what all Draco had shared with their once-potions master.

 _No, he wouldn't_ , she told herself sternly.

"I know you must be upset, by the sounds of it you've lost your closest friends."

Hermione took a steadying breath and met Narcissa's eyes, "After the way that they behaved the other night, and other things that they've done to me in the past, I have to wonder if they were ever really my friends."

"I'm sure they were, dear. Jealousy and anger can make people do things that they wouldn't normally do. They'll get over it, and whenever they do they'll know just where to find you."

"Maybe," Hermione said non-committedly, thinking about everything they had done since she had met them. Draco was absent from her life for four years and she still felt as though he was a better friend than the other two boys. Her and Draco fought more, but they had also been each other's everything at one point, and that changes things.

"Would you like to spend some time at the pool with me tomorrow? It's probably going to start getting cold soon."

"I would love to," Hermione said, smiling at the witch who was so obviously trying to be friendly.

They sat in amicable silence for a while, each reading a book silently. Sometimes Narcissa would laugh at whatever it was she was reading, just a little giggle, and Hermione found it incredibly endearing. She had never been one to laugh or cry at things she was reading and she loved that there were people who did such things. They were companionable, and both ladies ended up laying on their respective couches, absorbed in their books and facing each other… until Draco entered the room. He was feeling warm and somewhat fuzzy from the firewhiskey he had partaken in with Blaise and he couldn't resist seeking Hermione out to razz her a little bit.

It was almost as though Hermione knew it was him before she even looked up from her book.

"I doubt that book will help you," he said, goading her.

"I find it interesting, regardless if it will or not."

"You'd need a lot more than a book to be able to come across as anything more than uncouth."

"Don't be so rude, Draco," Narcissa chastised causing Draco to jump and almost look like a child again for a moment.

"Mother," he exclaimed, clearly surprised, "what are you doing here?"

She raised a delicate eyebrow and stared at him as though he had lost his mind. "Reading," she deadpanned, causing Draco to blush lightly. Hermione almost laughed but managed to keep it to a grin.

"Blaise has left," Draco said, trying to cover up his awkward moment.

"How was your visit?" Narcissa asked kindly as she and Hermione both sat up and closed their books.

"Good. He's finally been approved to open his cafe in Diagon Alley, so he's pretty thrilled about that."

"Wonderful," Narcissa beamed.

Hermione excused herself and headed for bed, glad that she had some sort of plans for the next day since her days were becoming boring quickly, but maybe that was about to change now that Draco was at least speaking to her again. Sure, it was mostly sarcasm, but it was better than nothing. She turned the corner to her room and stopped dead in her tracks.

Blaise Zabini was standing in the hallway a few steps from both her and Draco's bedroom doors, staring back at her.

"Shit," Draco cursed from inches behind Hermione, causing her to jump.

"Granger?" Blaise asked incredulously, "what…" his head swung to Draco, who had stepped a half step in front of Hermione and almost blocked her body from Blaise's view, even though it was too late. This was a gesture that Hermione had seen from him before, and she understood that Draco had automatically went right into protective mode.

In fact, the entire situation was extremely familiar.

 _Seventeen year old Hermione opened her eyes and smiled at the boy sleeping beside her, his arm thrown across her body. She reached up a tentative finger and ran it down his cheek softly, the stubble there was so light she could barely see it, but she could feel it beneath her finger._

 _Gods, they were growing up fast._

 _"Draco?" she whispered, running her finger down his cheek once more._

 _"Hmm?" he groaned groggily, pulling her body tighter to his._

 _"I should go, I slept in a little bit and I need to get out of your room before the rest of the house wakes up."_

 _"Five more minutes," he said, seconds before nuzzling his face into her hair._

 _Hermione giggled lightly, "only five, Draco," but when his hand moved to her breast underneath the warm blanket they were sharing, she knew it was going to be much longer than five minutes, against her better judgement._

 _Twenty-five minutes later she was standing beside his bed getting dressed while he laid supine on the mattress, his hands behind his head and the blanket thrown to the floor._

 _He was watching her silently, he hated to see her go._

 _"You'll be back tonight?" he asked quietly as she slipped on her shirt and began buttoning the buttons. He sat up and swatted her hands away, taking on the task for her as she gazed down at his face while her hands rubbed his naked back._

 _"Of course I'll be back tonight," she replied lightly._

 _Draco finished with her buttons and stood up, brushing the hair out her face as he pulled her into his arms for a quick hug and chaste kiss._

 _"I love you," he said, staring down into her eyes._

 _"I love you too," she answered, and Draco broke the hug to pull on a pair of boxers._

 _Not a moment too soon._

 _His bedroom door was thrust open and Blaise Zabini rushed in the room, slamming it behind him in his haste._

 _"Draco, I – " and then he stopped. And stared._

 _Draco immediately stepped in front of Hermione, and for a moment she was offended, thinking he was trying to hide her identity; that was until she realized that he was in a duel stance and was guarding her from his friend, in case the dark skinned boy was thinking about hurting her._

Much like what was happening at that very moment in the hallway.

"Are you guys back together?" Blaise asked, completely confused because Draco hadn't said a word about the witch being there.

"No," they both replied rather harshly.

"What are you still doing here, Blaise?" Draco asked, angry with himself for blowing Hermione's cover.

"I forgot my wallet in the sitting room up here. I made it to the main fireplace before I realized and came back to get it. What's going on? If you aren't together again then why is she here?"

Draco sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.

"Well, Blaise, I have been contacted by the serial killer killing muggleborns on numerous occasions, so I was brought here to be kept safe."

Blaise stared at Hermione for a few moments, letting it all sink in, and then he burst out laughing while Hermione and Draco looked at him incredulously.

"I'm sorry –," he gasped after a laughing uncontrollably, " – I'm not laughing about the serial killer thing, but how ironic is it that she was brought here?!"

"Well it isn't as if Potter and Weasley know _anything_ about our past together."

Everyone was silent for a few moments, watching each other and wondering what was going to happen now that Blaise knew.

"I need to talk to you," Draco said abruptly and signalled for Blaise to follow him into his room.

Hermione watched the door close and went into her own bedroom, more than happy to let Draco deal with it all. She knew he would have her best interests at heart and she really didn't feel like dealing with anything at that very moment. As she entered her room though, she saw a new letter and stopped in her tracks for a moment.

What did this mean? How were the letters getting into her bedroom? She felt safe here, it wasn't like her own flat where she felt uncomfortable and as though she were being watched constantly.

Something wasn't right.

She moved forward and picked the letter up in slightly trembling hands, trying to decide whether to open it or not. She huffed at herself almost instantly, knowing she had to look and see, she was too curious to leave it unopened.

It contained more pictures, including one of her coming out of an extremely steamy bathroom in nothing but a towel, but this time she noted that none of the photos she had been receiving were taken in Malfoy Manor, they were all from when she was at her own flat, so now she had to wonder just how many the pervert managed to take before she was moved.

And why weren't there any of her in Malfoy Manor? He was obviously accessing the house in order to leave her the letters in the first place, wasn't he? Why wouldn't he just access it at a different time of the day and get some new photos of her?

Maybe there was a way for her to get her hands on all the information she wanted to know without giving herself away. She was probably better off asking Narcissa, since Draco could read her like a book.

/

"That bathing suit is just adorable on you, dear," Narcissa exclaimed happily, eyeing Hermione from the lounge chair where she was sitting. She had a huge hat on her head and was sipping from a drink through a ridiculously swirly straw with a little umbrella adorning it, Hermione eyed the book on her lap, and grinning about how alike they were as she set her own book on the lounge beside Narcissa.

"Thank you, you really do have wonderful taste."

The bathing suit was a black monokini; basically a one piece with cut outs all through it and really showed as much skin as her old bikini did. Hermione supposed it was fashionable though.

She took a seat and Narcissa automatically poured her some lemonade while Hermione righted herself and set her book on her lap. Hermione noticed that Narcissa was wearing a suit similar to the one that she had on and had to wonder why she always complimented Hermione on her figure. Narcissa looked amazing for her age, and Hermione had told her that plenty times.

"Draco informed me that Blaise stumbled onto you last night, but not to worry, dear, he gave Draco his word that he would keep the fact that you're here very quiet."

"Good," Hermione exhaled, and then added, "I've always really liked Blaise."

That caused Narcissa to give her a queer look.

"I wasn't aware that you knew him," she said, her sunglass covered face looking in Hermione's direction.

"Well, we went to school together and he was one of the few people who weren't awful to me," Hermione answered slowly, aware that she had just made a rather large mistake.

Narcissa didn't answer, and Hermione could almost hear the gears turning in the woman's head, so instead of giving her free time to think everything over, Hermione decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try and get information about the Manor from her.

"I'm curious about the wards on the manor," Hermione started, and immediately wanted to kick herself. She was about as subtle as a rampaging hippogriff.

"Why would you be curious about that, dear?" Narcissa questioned, picking up her sweating glass and taking another sip of the juice inside.

"Well, Harry had mentioned that when Creevey was murdered it seemed as though he had left the house of his own accord… I'm almost wondering if he was lured?" Hermione was grasping at straws to make her question seem innocent, she could barely remember what Harry had told her all that time ago about Colin Creevey's murder.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Malfoy manor has blood wards – no one should be able to enter the house or the property without being brought here by someone containing Malfoy blood."

"I wasn't brought here by a Malfoy," Hermione pointed out, somewhat confused.

"You weren't, but we had arranged for your arrival."

"So no one would be able to get in without your knowledge, then."

"They shouldn't, but wards are always breakable – ours are as strong as they come, though, so I wouldn't fret about it," Narcissa said, and then smiled reassuringly and picked up her book to settle back and read.

Hermione was frustrated. Someone was bringing her the letters to her room, and she knew they weren't delivered through owl post, because it had been predetermined that any post she was to receive was being searched before it made it to her. She sighed and reached for her own book, reading in the bright sunlight with Narcissa as company until she began to doze.

She was so warm and comfortable.

 _Fourteen year old Hermione was lounging in the long grass on a hill by the Black Lake. It was far enough away from the castle that it didn't draw anyone's attention, and yet close enough that she was still in bounds of the school._

 _She could see Draco making his way toward her, his hands skimming over the long grass as he walked. He had his cloak off and draped over one of his arms and the sleeves of his oxford shirt were rolled up to his elbows... It was March and was thankfully beginning to warm up, Hermione herself had taken her cloak off. She was lounging on a blanket stolen from Gryffindor tower for this exact reason and the sun was beaming down with a power it had ceased to radiate throughout the winter months. She took a deep breath of the fresh spring air and closed her eyes, letting her head drop back slightly and allowing the sun's rays to wash over it._

 _"Hey," Draco said, standing over her and blocking the sun from her face._

 _"Hey yourself," she answered, sitting up and gesturing to the spot beside her. Draco sat down gracefully and rested his forearms on his knees, looking out at the lake below them._

 _"I'm so glad it's the weekend," Hermione said, grinning and stretching her arms out in front of her, "and I'm also happy that this treacherous tournament only has more task to go, and it isn't until June."_

 _"Hermione…?"_

 _"Hmmm?"_

 _"What's actually going on between you and Viktor Krum?"_

 _She laughed and leaned closer to him, nudging him with her shoulder in a friendly gesture, "Absolutely nothing, why do you ask?"_

 _"I just wanted to make sure."_

 _"Draco, I thought we already talked about this, I went to the ball with Viktor and you went with Pansy because it seemed like the right thing to do. That's it."_

 _Draco let out a breath and Hermione turned to him, he was being extremely serious and things weren't usually like that between them. They spent a fair amount of their time joking around and engaging in friendly banter._

 _"Knut for your thoughts?" she asked him, smiling again, but she was a little bit concerned by his serious attitude._

 _"Well – it's just that I wanted to ask you…"_

 _"What is it?" she asked, sitting up straighter now._

 _"I – Well I want you to be my girlfriend, Hermione."_

 _Hermione's stomach exploded with butterflies, and she stared at the boy she had cared about more than anyone else in the magical world for over two years already. He wanted her to be his girlfriend?! Of course he did… Hermione knew that he cared about her with a fierceness that rivaled her feelings for him._

 _She then realized that she had been staring at him for at least thirty seconds straight and hadn't said a word. Draco's cheeks were starting to tinge with a faint blush, and he was obviously embarrassed and thought she was going to deny him._

 _As if she'd ever do that._

 _"Of course I'll be your girlfriend," she answered, grinning at him. Her stomach fluttered again when he smiled back, one of his genuine grins that she knew he didn't bestow on very many people at all._

/

 _Sixteen year old Hermione was worried, Draco was supposed to meet her in the Library after hours upon his return from Easter holidays and he was already twenty minutes late. Draco was_ never _late._

 _She had decided that she was only going to wait five more minutes before she went searching for him. She knew where his room was, having visited it before… but she was terrified of being in the dungeons alone. When his allotted time was up Hermione got up and started heading in the direction that she was the most afraid of – she hadn't been able to be in the dungeons even remotely alone since that fateful day Draco found her in an old, empty, unused classroom earlier that year._

 _She tamped her fear down though, because she had a feeling that something major had happened – she really didn't have a good feeling in her stomach._

 _She skirted through the castle, making sure to be light on her feet so she wasn't caught by Filch, or anyone else, for that matter._

 _Once she arrived at the blank space of wall that signified the entrance to the Slytherin common room, she got cold feet. She had never done this without Draco before, and he would always check first to ensure that the common room was empty of all stragglers._

 _What if someone was awake?_

 _Hermione retrieved her wand and checked the time quickly, relieved to see that it was 1:30 am. Everyone should have been in bed by that time, right? She took a deep, steadying breath and decided to just bite the bullet. She knew that there was a reason Draco hadn't met with her, and she knew it wasn't anything good._

 _She gave the password, which she knew because Draco made sure that she always knew what it was, and slipped into the room quickly and silently, letting out a breath when she saw that she was, indeed, alone. She made her way to Draco's private room (blast those spoiled Slytherins and their private rooms) from memory, edging down the corridor silently. Once she reached his door she was glad to see that he was inside, judging by the wards placed around his room – wards that she had broken in less than thirty seconds._

 _She snuck into his room and almost dropped her wand in shock upon seeing her boyfriend. He was sprawled on his bed on his stomach, his back ripped strips of flesh that looked red and angry. Of all the things she had been expecting, it wasn't this._

 _"Oh my God," she breathed, rushing forward and dropping to her knees beside him, her head about level with his. His face was flushed and his silky blond hair was sticking to his sweaty skin, Hermione reached out a tender hand and brushed the hair aside before running her forefinger down an angry weal on his cheek._

 _Her touch, which probably felt extremely cool to him, caused him to wake – his eyes fluttered for a few moments before they opened completely; Draco was obviously shocked to see her there._

 _He whispered her name and tried to move into a sitting position, but Hermione halted his movements because they were obviously causing him more pain than he was already experiencing._

 _"What happened?" she almost sobbed, casting temperature reducing charms on the feverish boy._

 _"My father," was all he managed to get out before he lost a considerable amount of energy and flopped back onto the bed. Hermione didn't question him anymore and instead began to heal his skin; she didn't do the best job, but she did the best that she could. Her healing skills were radically worse than Draco's, but he had been trying to teach her, a skill she was extremely grateful for at that moment._

"Hermione, dear?"

Hermione jolted awake and was surprised when she was staring into the concerned, light blue eyes of Narcissa Malfoy.

"You were dreaming and it didn't seem overly pleasant."

"Oh," was all Hermione managed to say before she sat up. She felt cold, despite the blaring sun that had moved across the sky while she had been napping. She wrapped her arms across her chest and held onto her shoulders, supressing a violent shiver. "Is Draco back?" she asked before she could stop herself, and it was Narcissa's turn to look surprised.

Now Hermione understood why Draco had wanted to see her immediately after he had woken up from his dream about the night of the Ravenclaw boys. She felt the exact same after awakening from her dream; she _needed_ to see him, immediately.

"I'm not sure, I've been out here the whole time. We should probably head in and get ready for dinner though," Narcissa said, picking up her book and standing from her lounge chair.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- Just want to throw out a quick thank you to everyone who has followed/favourited/reviewed, and an extra special thank you to Fandomqueen104 for being consistent! I really do appreciate it! P.S.-It's interesting to see who you guys think the killer is :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Six**

Hermione showered and dressed in her formal dinner wear after her time at the pool with Narcissa, but the entire time her thoughts were with Draco. Until she started having these dreams… memories… whatever they were, she had almost forgotten the amount of things that had happened between them. How could she have been stupid enough to let those thoughts and feelings leave her?

Oh right, he became a Death Eater.

She dropped onto her bed and stared at the wall, unsure of what to do. Regardless of the fact that Draco had, in fact, taken the Dark Mark, he did end up fighting for the right people in the end of it all. She had broken him, though, and would completely understand if he felt the need to continue holding that against her.

If Draco had left her to go 'travelling' with two females who were to be mainly staying in one shared tent and would only be able to have limited to no contact with her, how would she have felt?

But she had informed him of those plans _after_ he had taken the mark, not before.

Why did their past need to be what it was. She had cried for weeks after she left with Harry and Ron, she had felt like the world's biggest idiot for thinking that Draco would defy his father and refuse the mark. She had lost her best friend – her world – that fateful day, and she had felt sick about it for months.

She had loved Draco with her entire heart and soul, and when she saw that mark on his arm – by accident – she wanted to die.

 _Seventeen year old Draco made sure to cast a glamour charm on his left arm on a regular basis for the last three weeks of school; the last thing he needed was for someone to see it. Especially someone who would feel it was a complete betrayal._

 _It was, but at the same time it wasn't._

 _Draco hadn't taken the Dark Mark willingly, and had, in fact, fought against it so hard that his father had ended up cursing him into submission._

 _He wanted nothing more than to be able to tell Hermione that it had happened and that he was now considered a Death Eater, but he knew he wouldn't be able to face the look in her eyes. She would see it as nothing short of betrayal, and he knew that her temper was bad enough that he wouldn't get a proper chance to explain unless it was orchestrated properly._

 _"I want you to know that I will be hard to keep in touch with over the next few months," Hermione was saying, and her arms constricted tighter around his naked chest._

 _"Why?" he had asked, stifling a yawn. He wanted to go to sleep and wake up in another time, a time where he and Hermione wouldn't have to hide their love, where they could be free and outwardly expressive. A time where he didn't have the hideous Mark on his left arm, screaming to the world who and what he was._

 _He sighed. His life was a disaster and he had a foreboding feeling that he was going to lose the love of his life forever in a very short amount of time._

 _"I can't exactly explain, but Harry, Ron and I have been given a mission, of sorts."_

 _"And I won't be able to contact you?"_

 _"Probably not, Draco. It's complicated but it's also a very large secret, we'll be hiding out."_

 _"Hiding out?"_

 _"I can't really explain."_

 _"Because you don't trust me?" he asked, rather angrily as he slipped out from underneath her and stood beside the bed._

 _"Of course I trust you!" she answered, almost angrily herself, "and I want you to know what I'll be doing, but Dumbledore… well, he made us promise we wouldn't tell anyone. Only Harry, Ron and I know what we're doing and what needs to be done but we'll be on the run, essentially, basically living in a tent off the land as we try and complete the mission. I'm hoping it won't take too long, but I wanted you to know about it ahead of time."_

 _"You're going to be staying with Potter and Weasley? Alone, in a tent?"_

 _"Yes," Hermione answered quietly, and knew exactly where Draco was going with that line of thought, "But you should know that I don't want… anyone else, Draco. I love you and you're it for me."_

 _"I need a shower," Draco answered, and Hermione left him to it because she knew he needed to think about everything she had just said._

 _Two weeks later Hermione had snuck down to Draco's rooms. School was over the next day and she desperately wanted to spend a little bit of time with him before they essentially went their separate ways for the time being. They were to still be together, but apart at the same time._

 _Hermione herself was confused about it, but she loved Draco enough to be away from him for a while; they did it every holiday anyway._

 _She didn't knock, and sometimes she wondered if that was why everything had happened; she hadn't respected Draco's privacy by any means and instead tentatively pushed his door open and snuck quietly into his room._

 _He was awake, she was happy to see, and was sitting at his desk writing what appeared to be a letter; he was wearing a loose set of sleep pants and nothing else. She grinned as she moved closer to him, but he looked up, startled by her presence._

 _And that's when she saw the dark stain on his forearm, she fell backwards in shock upon seeing the skull and snake mark and landed hard on her tailbone._

 _"Let me explain," Draco said immediately, standing, and Hermione scuttled away on her hands and feet, her butt clearing the floor by a couple of inches, until she was in the corner beside his desk._

 _"How can you possibly explain that?" she asked, tears already making her eyes shine. She jumped to her feet and hovered beside his desk where the letter was sitting; she glanced at it quickly and read the first line but didn't comprehending anything in that moment._

 _"Just hear me out, okay? I didn't –,"_

 _"How long?" she asked, reigning herself in for a moment._

 _Draco hung his head. "Three weeks, but if you'll just –,"_

 _"No!" she yelled, dodging around him as he moved closer to her, rushing for his bedroom door. Knowing that he had had that mark on his arm, hidden from her, for three weeks broke the rest of her resolve_

 _"Hermione, please!" he shouted, and she could hear the catch in his voice, but she was so angry about the fact that he was even associated with the group of people who wanted her_ kind _dead, that she ignored it._

 _"No!" she screamed again, "how could you even possibly think that this is okay?" She gestured to his arm, and ignored the tears already streaming down his cheeks, "this is not okay, Draco, and I will not have a boyfriend who cares so little about me that he becomes a Death Eater."_

 _"You don't understand," and Draco was pleading, now._

 _"I don't need to understand," she screamed hysterically, "this is over!"_

 _Hermione slammed out of Draco's room and clutched her chest when she was confronted by Blaise Zabini outside his bedroom door._

 _"Is everything okay?" Blaise asked, as there was a loud banging sound coming from inside Draco's room. Hermione would bet that he was smashing his chair._

 _"Fuck off," Hermione snarled at the Italian, and she ran again when she heard Draco's bedroom door slam open. She didn't spare him a second glance as she fled the scene of her heartbreak, pushing passed a nameless Slytherin boy she didn't recognize in the hallway outside the common room._

 _It wasn't until the next morning when the words she had read on the letter on Draco's desk made any sense to her sleep deprived, completely broken hearted, distracted mind._

 _"Dear Mother," it read, "I want you to leave the manor immediately and meet me in Diagon Alley, outside of Ollivanders' wand shop. I can't do this. I have a confession, but I won't write it out; I'd rather tell you in person. Please ensure that you're discreet, and if you could –" that's as far as Hermione had seen, but she understood the implications._

 _Draco was telling Narcissa to flee!_

 _Too bad Hermione realized it a day too late. As soon as she realized what she had seen, she sprinted to the Great Hall, where the last breakfast for the graduating class was taking place. She would make Draco talk to her; he loved her, so he wouldn't deny her that one small thing, right?_

 _Except that Draco was gone. Blaise told her later, while waiting for the carriages, that Draco had packed his things and fled in the middle of the night; but not before he told Blaise what had happened while sobbing almost incoherently, he fled to the life he didn't want because he thought that Hermione was truly through with him. Hermione couldn't bear the disappointment in his eyes, and she knew she had made the biggest mistake of her life._

Hermione sighed, still confused and torn apart by what had all happened and pulled out her iPod. She plugged the headphones into her ears and scrolled, looking for a specific song, and when she found it she laid down on her back and clutched the device to her chest, tears spilling down the sides of her face and into her now sleek and shiny hair. She kept her eyes closed, letting the song wash over her and once it was finished she restarted it and then put it on repeat.

This was something of a ritual for her and she was so used to doing it, and so used to being completely alone, that she started to sing along in a quiet, trembling voice.

 _And I, am feeling so small… it was over my head, I know nothing at all._

 _And I, will stumble and fall… I'm still learning to love, just starting to crawl._

 _Say something, I'm giving up on you… I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you… anywhere I would have followed you._

 _Say something I'm giving up on you._

And then she screamed, wrenching her eyes open and staring at Draco, who was standing above her with a hand extended, touching her arm lightly and looking incredibly worried. She reached up to rip the headphones out of her ears and sat up in one fluid motion, embarrassed and sad, all at the same time.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, eyeing her iPod in a very distrustful way.

"Nothing, sorry," Hermione answered, totally flustered about being caught in that situation.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and the way he asked it caused Hermione's tears to start flowing again; he was so concerned, so worried and the blatant look of love in his eyes just ruined her completely.

"Hey," he said, crouching down on his haunches so they were at equal height before he reached out and wiped one of her quick flowing tears from her face with his thumb, "what's wrong?"

"Ev-everything," she choked out, and oh, how her arms longed to wrap around his broad shoulders and hold on tight.

"What do you mean?" he asked soothingly, obviously completely thrown off by her behaviour.

"Everything is wrong, Draco. I… Gods, I miss you. I miss you so much, and there's this giant rift between us – and I totally understand why the rift is there, but I hate it. I hate it so much. I just want it gone."

And she was sobbing uncontrollably again.

Draco took a deep breath and moved so he was sitting beside her, one arm around her back, pulling her into the side of his body tight. He was waiting for her to calm down before he could say his piece, she would never hear him over her sobbing anyway and he knew her well enough to know that she would burn out in a few minutes.

True to form, Hermione started quieting down after a couple minutes until she was just shaking against him.

"Can I speak now?" he asked, and he felt her nod against his chest.

"I hate it too. I remember everything that happened, and I know I was a ridiculous imbecile to allow them to mark me, I know that, and if I could go back now and change it… well believe me when I say that I wouldn't even hesitate. I know you don't know this, but I truly did try to fight them off; unfortunately, my father hexed me until I was almost unconscious, and that's when they did it. I'm not making any excuses, I would have a few years ago and I had it all planned out to tell you everything, but… it didn't work out that way. I honestly wouldn't hesitate to go back and change everything, fight harder… anything, really. Not only did my actions cause me to lose you, something that I never thought possible when I was seventeen, it also caused me to miss out on four years of your life. Four years. How could I have allowed that to happen?"

Draco sounded almost as upset as she did now, but she sat back and stared at him, surprised by the vehemence in his voice.

"It wasn't just you, Draco," she said in a hoarse voice, "we both did stupid things."

"No," he said, suddenly sounding angry, "listen to me. I only said those things to you after you got here because I was angry and I was trying to make you feel like you needed to take the blame, but you were right, Hermione! You didn't do anything wrong, that's all on me. If I'd fought harder against my father and got my mother out of there sooner I never would have been marked, I wouldn't have been a Death Eater, but I didn't did I? And was it worth it for me in the end?!"

Hermione wasn't sure if that was a rhetorical question or not, so she just continued to stare.

"No! It wasn't! Merlin, Hermione, when you were hauled in here with those snatchers… I wanted to murder everyone in sight. I wanted to run to you and grab you and disappear; I would have too, but my mother… she knows me better than anyone, and when I had to look in Potter's face and see you beside him and tell my family whether it was you or not… she knew by my denial that something was seriously amiss. She knew it was you and she had only met you a couple fleeting times. When my aunt started in on you, Gods, I couldn't even look. Hearing your screams… that was the worst thing I've ever experienced in my life. In my entire life, Hermione, and that's saying something. My mother used a form of the petrificus totalus spell on me so I couldn't run to you.

"Then you were gone. You were gone, believing that I had stood by and watched everything that happened to you without a shred of remorse, and that killed me too. I saw your blood, your bright red blood, so like mine, on the floor and that's when I snapped. I hauled my mother out of the Manor as soon as I was able to and went in search of the Order of the Phoenix. I could not, would not, continue to stand by people who could do something like that to someone as innocent as you, Hermione. All because of your blood! They didn't know you, they didn't understand that you were beautiful, and smart, and ridiculously bossy, but in an adorable way. They didn't know how strong you were or how much bullshit you put up with in school because of people _just like them_! They didn't know you like I did. They didn't love you or even _care_ about you, and I couldn't stand by that any longer. I couldn't."

Draco was avoiding her gaze with his passionate confession and Hermione was almost stunned beyond belief. Neither moved for a moment, they were completely still, staring in opposite directions; seconds later Hermione was in Draco's arms, straddling his lap, kissing him for all she was worth. Draco didn't hesitate to match her fervor.

It was a demanding, rough kiss; a kiss that proved to the other exactly how much they had missed it.

Four years.

They had each waited four years to be able to do this again, and Hermione knew now that she would never let it go again.

They were shocked apart by the appearance of a very upset house elf, informing them that they were already ten minutes late for dinner.

/

"Is something wrong, dear? You look upset."

"Nothing's wrong," Hermione replied, taking her seat at the dinner table and avoiding Severus' gaze.

"Your eyes are swollen and your face is a blotchy mess, something is obviously wrong," Narcissa replied. Hermione almost laughed at the blunt way she was just informed that she basically looked a fright.

"Everything is right, now, Narcissa," Hermione assured her, and she glanced up at Draco to see him smiling across the table at her. He looked so happy, now.

Narcissa looked from Hermione's puffy eyes and small smile to her son, who was beaming.

"What's going on?" she questioned, annoyed that she was constantly left out of the loop, but when her eyes met Severus' he gave her a small smile.

"Hermione and I are back together, mother, everything is as it should be."

"Back together?" Narcissa asked faintly, confused.

"Yes," Draco answered, and left it at that.

/

Hermione wanted to go for a walk around the gardens the next morning, and since it was a weekend Draco jumped at the opportunity to escort her; he had been waiting for her for years so he was going to spend as much time with her as he possibly could. It was a beautiful morning, probably one of the last, actually, so Hermione decided to wear one of her old sundresses.

"What was that thing you had yesterday? The thing with the extendable ears."

Hermione laughed lightly, "Those weren't extendable ears, Draco, they were headphones. It's a device that allows me to listen to music and I worked on it so that it would charge from the magical particles in the air instead of electricity."

"You never cease to amaze me," he said, tightening his grip on her hand for a moment.

"I want to show you something," he told her, and began to pull her through the small patch of trees toward their private lake; swatting branches out of his way with his free arm. There was a path that they could have followed, but it took a lot longer because it went around the forest instead of through it.

Hermione suddenly felt a sharp pain in her arm and she immediately knew what it was; she swung her head to Draco, her eyes wide with fear.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at her curiously – and then he saw it.

"No." he said, even shaking his head to try and deny what had just happened.

"Yes," Hermione whispered, her body already betraying her as the little bee flew away from her arm, "Draco!" she gasped, and he whisked her up and began full out running back toward the Manor. Of course he didn't have the blasted epipen on him.

"Focus on breathing," Draco grated out, running back toward the Manor as fast as he could, "just please focus on breathing, Hermione."

They were about twenty yards from the front door when her gasps began to get extremely laboured and Draco could feel her arms that were around his neck, balancing her, weakening.

"No!" he yelled, putting more speed into his legs, "no, no, no, no, Hermione! Don't do this!" and then he was yanking open the door, where he collapsed onto the floor and screamed, "Mugsy!"

The small elf appeared immediately and Draco was screaming at it, almost unintelligibly because of his fear, but he got the point across and she disappeared to his bedroom, searching his desk and tabletops for the contraption the girl had shown up with all those months ago.

She saw the bright orange poking out from behind a lamp and it sparked with familiarity in the small elf's mind; she had been present when Hermione was passing them out to her mistress and master, so she plucked it up and disappeared.

As soon as Mugsy disappeared Draco reached down to Hermione's pulse, which was there but extremely faint.

"You can't do this," he yelled at her still form, "don't do this, Hermione, please! Not after I just got you back!" and then he heard running footsteps. He had been yelling and screaming uncontrollably for the last couple minutes, so of course he had attracted the attention of his mother and her lover.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Severus asked, stepping into the situation immediately to try and pull Draco away from Hermione's body.

Draco ripped his arm away from Severus and scrambled back to his girlfriend's supine form on the floor.

"Please stay with me," he said quietly, and traced his finger down the side of her extremely flushed face; her hair was already sticking to the sweat.

"What's happened?" Narcissa asked breathlessly, watching her son's actions and noticing just how much he cared for the girl on the floor.

"Bee," was all Draco said, but Narcissa gasped loudly and ran from the room while Severus watched everyone like they had lost their minds.

Narcissa ran back in just as the elf was appearing but she had already ripped the blue cap off of the back as she was entering the room; before the elf could even hand the other epipen to Draco, Narcissa had thrown herself onto the floor and jabbed the orange end into the girls thigh exactly where she had pointed to all those months before. They heard a click and Draco knew that meant the needle was dispensing the medicine; this wasn't his first time in such a situation, after all. Narcissa held the needle there for a few more moments and then pulled it out, Draco's hand shot forward immediately and he started to massage the area, making sure the medicine was making its way throughout her body.

Severus was watching them both like they were certifiably insane.

Hermione sat up quickly, air rushing into her lungs with a deep breath as she reached up and started running her hands through her hair in an extremely strange way. Then she looked at Draco and Narcissa, who were still sitting right beside her, and her eyes widened in fear.

"What are you doing?" she asked, terrified.

"We aren't doing anything," Draco answered, holding his hand up to his mother. He knew exactly how Hermione behaved after she had received Epinephrine and for all the warnings she had given his mother about having some sort of shaking fit, Draco knew that she actually became extremely high strung and paranoid for a short period of time.

"What's in your hand?" she asked Narcissa, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing, we were just thinking about having lunch," Draco replied, taking her hand and helping her up, where he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm not hungry," she replied, and then Draco could, in fact, feel her begin to shake.

He sat her back down on the floor immediately and he could tell that she was about to panic, but before she could even open her mouth she started shaking brutally, almost convulsing, and she fell back onto the floor as her muscles spasmed.

"What's happening?" Severus demanded, his eyes wide as he watched his former student convulse on the floor.

"It's an allergy," Draco spat, wondering how he was supposed to help her.

"Is this normal for an allergy?" Severus asked. He was a half blood, but he hadn't spent much time paying attention to the muggle world. He may have lived there, but he didn't have any muggle friends or really speak to any muggles. His education on allergies went as far as sneezing when pollen was in the air.

Draco ignored his former professor as Hermione's shaking slowed down and she forced a single word out, "Draco?"

"You're fine," he answered, reassuringly, "everything's okay, you just got stung by a bee and we had to give you some medicine, okay? Everything's fine."

Hermione's shaking subsided completely, but Draco left her where she was on the floor for a few moments longer, trying to decide how to approach her. He finally just went for it and picked her up to stand her on her feet. "Everything's fine," he whispered again, pulling her into a hug. She was shaking again, but more of an afraid shake and not a compulsive convulsing shake.

"It was almost like you've done that before, mum," Draco commented as everyone made their way into the dining room, Hermione clutching Draco tightly.

"I haven't, ever, I just remembered everything she told us and it was like my body just did it on its own."

"Well thank you," Draco said, looking embarrassed about it.

Narcissa just smiled. The experience had actually been terrifying, she had never had to do anything like that in her entire life, and even though she registered Mugsy standing there with Draco's epipen, she just felt as though something took over her body and made her do it anyway. Maybe that's what it felt like to be panicked.

She was just glad that she had been able to save a life, that day.

"I think I'm going to need an explanation," Severus stated as they took their seats.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- I just wanted to make a quick note because I feel like I take a lot of flak for using the term 'wife-beater' when describing a shirt. Everyone keeps saying TANK TOP to me, and a wife beater IS NOT a tank top. I'm not using the phrase in a derogatory way at all - it's just what the shirt is called. I tried to post some links but it wont allow it, so I'd like to urge everyone to google "strappy tank top" and "wife beater top" so you can see the major difference.  
**

 **Sorry that I felt the need to clear this up, but in every single story I've written people have told me how rude I am for using that phrase... I didn't name the shirt haha.**

 **Anyway - on with the show.**

 **Chapter Seven**

Severus tossed _The Daily Prophet_ onto the table in front of Draco's plate and the younger wizard pulled it to him before his left eyebrow ascended. There had been a double murder the previous night, the two muggleborn wizards were suspected to have been murdered by the same person that was out to get Hermione _._ Harry Potter was quoted saying they still didn't understand how the hidden muggleborns were being found in their safe-houses and they were even more stumped about why they were walking straight out to meet their fate.

"What a useless tosser," Draco said, moving the newspaper out of his way so he could begin his breakfast. His mother smiled weakly at him after turning away from the window where she had been watching the snow fall; she took her seat at the dining table and took a dainty sip of her tea.

"It reminds me of something Hermione said to me months ago, actually," Narcissa commented, "she asked me something about our wards and was wondering if… well, one of the boys, I don't remember his name, had been lured out of his safe house."

"She asked about the wards?" Draco asked, looking at his mother, "I wonder why?"

"I think she was just curious," Narcissa offered, "it didn't seem like she was too concerned about it, in any case."

"We've sent out the invitations," Severus informed Draco after a few moments. They were carrying on with their initial plans to have their usual New Year's Eve Ball, and even though Draco put up a huge fight about it and refused to speak to his mother for 'endangering Hermione' for five days straight, they still went ahead and planned the blasted thing.

Draco opened his mouth to argue, but felt a small hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Hermione smiling down at him.

"Stop worrying about it," she told him, "I already told you that I'll be safe in my room the entire night."

"That doesn't mean I agree with this."

Severus rolled his eyes to the ceiling as though praying for strength, this was a fight that had been regularly occurring for over three weeks.

"Well we sent them out last week, so you should just get over it, already. It's happening and you'll be attending, regardless of how you feel about it. We aren't about to break years of tradition – especially when Hermione has already told us that she's fine with it. People expect this, Draco, can you imagine the suspicion that would be running rampant if the Malfoy's didn't throw the ball?"

Draco grunted in agreeance but dropped the subject; he'd already heard it all before, anyway.

Hermione had received four more letters with corresponding photos in them over the last two months, and again none of them contained photos that included her at Malfoy Manor. She couldn't figure that out and it was bothering her, because she felt like there was an integral piece of information that she was forgetting. She hadn't told anyone about the letters, but if this kept up her vanity drawer would be packed full soon.

She had made it a habit to go to Draco's room instead of him coming into hers because she never knew when there was going to be a letter there waiting for her, and she knew that if he knew about them he would lose it.

The only reason she hadn't shown him was because she didn't want to be sent away. That was her original reason for not telling anyone about the letter she had received months ago, but now that her and Draco were officially back together she definitely didn't want to be sent away.

/

"Are you sure you're going to be alright up here alone, Hermione?" Draco was asking, but at that moment his mother entered her bedroom as well. Draco knew full well that at that point it was too late for Hermione to change her mind but he still felt guilty that he was going to a ball and she was sitting alone the entire night.

"Actually," Narcissa said, and Draco was surprised to see a gleam in her eye, "I brought this for you, dear," and she held up a midnight blue, sleeveless gown.

Hermione's confusion was evident in her eyes, "What do I need a gown for, Narcissa?"

"Severus has made you a batch of Polyjuice potion for the evening. He thought it would alleviate Draco's fears if you were present at the ball with him."

"Really?" Draco asked, his face shining with delight, and Hermione could barely supress her eagerness as she lifted the dress and held it out in front of her.

"He's managed to tweak it a bit, so it'll last for seven hours without you having to take more doses. He thought it would be a little obvious if you were drinking out of a flask repeatedly during the festivities." Narcissa held out a vial to Hermione, who took it from her and downed it in seconds.

As Hermione started changing, her hair straightening, and skin bubbling, Narcissa informed Draco that they had found someone who looked a lot like Hermione, just with a few differences.

Hermione stayed the same height and size in general, but her hair had darkened to almost black and straightened out; it reached all the way to her waist and looked soft and silky. Her face shape had changed from heart shaped to more of an oval, and her lips were even fuller than usual, but not by much. Her eyes were no longer dark brown, they were a dull green.

Draco could still see Hermione, but he figured it was because he knew her so well.

No one else would ever suspect.

"I'm going to change!" Hermione exclaimed in excitement, her voice now an octave higher than her own.

"Call her Freya," Narcissa instructed, "Freya Cooper."

Draco nodded and thanked his mother as she left the room to finish having her makeup applied.

Hermione emerged from the bathroom in the sleeveless gown that Narcissa had provided, but Draco wished that she still had her own face, instead of this faux one in its place.

"I'm so excited I can come tonight," Hermione said happily, but before Draco could reply there was a knock on the door. It was thrown open moments later and a flamboyantly gay man entered the room, "Miss. Freya Cooper? Madam Malfoy has sent me here to do your hair and makeup, and ohmygosh aren't you just the most adorable thing? I can see it won't take much to make you acceptable for a New Year's Eve ball, goodness no."

"I'dbetter go get dressed," Draco announced awkwardly, bending down to give Hermione a chaste kiss before fleeing the room.

"So, Freya, what were you thinking you wanted done with your hair?"

"I think maybe just down?"

"That's easy enough! Then I'll get your makeup done, which I'm sure you'll just want natural since you're such a pretty little thing?"

"Yes, please," Hermione answered shyly, taking a seat as the man magicked a large case to double in size and open to reveal thousands of products.

"This won't take long," he said, a grin on his face.

/

 _Fourteen year old Draco was standing at the bottom of the staircase waiting for Pansy to emerge from the dungeons for the blasted Yul_ _e Ball. He had wanted to go with Hermione, of course, but it was impossible in their situation and they both knew it. That didn't stop Draco's jealousy when he found out that Hermione was allowing Viktor sodding Krum to accompany her._

 _He sighed and looked to Blaise, "I don't know why it takes females so long to get ready for these ridiculous things."_

 _"They need to make sure they look better than every other girl, Draco. That takes time."_

 _"Pansy can take all the time she needs, I don't think she'll ever look better than anyone other than maybe Millie."_

 _"If you feel that way, why are you taking her?"_

 _"Pureblood," was all Draco spouted off, and Blaise was about to reply but his words tapered off into a gasp of surprise. Draco looked at him to see that he was looking up the grand staircase in the Great Hall, and followed his gaze to one Hermione Granger, who left him breathless as well._

 _"Is that_ Granger _?!" Blaise asked incredulously._

 _Draco didn't answer. Hermione was wearing a floaty, periwinkle blue dress that looked amazing on her, and her hair was swept back into a tight chignon – Draco knew that had to have taken her hours. She shared a small, knowing smile with him for a fleeting moment, and then Draco was almost knocked out of the way as Viktor Krum rushed forward to ensure that everyone knew this particular beauty would be on his arm for the evening._

 _Pansy came at that moment and latched onto Draco's arm tightly but Draco could barely spare her a glance._

 _Pansy spent the rest of the evening complaining that Draco wasn't paying enough attention to her, and Draco spent his time trying to get fleeting looks of Hermione dancing with Viktor._

Draco finished tying his tie and shrugged on his suit jacket before crossing the hall and picking up Hermione. He was strangely excited to take her to the Christmas Ball, since he had been denied the pleasure of escorting her to the Yule Ball all of those years ago.

"You ready?" he asked, after knocking on her door and being allowed entrance.

"Yes," she said, standing shyly before him. His breath caught, but nothing like it did on that day all those years ago.

"I wish you weren't disguised," he murmured as she approached him and she fully understood that he would feel strange showing off a girl who wasn't Hermione on his arm.

"Draco? Have you dated anyone other than me?" she asked suddenly, and he felt his cheeks flush slightly.

"No," He said tersely, taking her arm, "I haven't wanted to date anyone but you."

"Is that why you were spending all those years drowning your sorrows at the bottom of a bottle?"

"I never thought I'd have the chance to have you back," he answered tightly, and it was clear he didn't even want to think about it.

"If it's any consolation, I haven't been with anyone else either."

Draco stopped in his tracks and they faced each other. "Well other than… you know? Flint and Mont – "

Draco put his finger over her lips, silencing her and that train of thought.

"Don't," he said quietly, and then leaned down and replaced his finger with his lips, "Let's try and have a good time tonight."

Hermione nodded in agreeance and they headed for the ballroom hand in hand.

/

Draco and the disguised Hermione were standing near the refreshment table when they were approached by a group of former Slytherin's, Blaise included.

Pansy seemed to be at the party stag, and she was walking toward them with her arm looped through Daphne Greengrass's, giggling together. Blaise wasn't far behind and Draco was surprised to see that he was stag as well.

"Couldn't find a date?" Draco asked as Blaise winked at Hermione. He had clearly already figured her out.

"I'm not here alone," Blaise stated, and Pansy looked incredibly annoyed about this revelation.

"Who are you here with?" Draco asked, instantly curious. He hadn't seen Blaise for at least a month, preferring to spend his time at home with Hermione.

Pansy scoffed and Blaise shot her a hard look. Before he could reveal his date to Draco a pretty girl approached the group. She was wearing a red dress that reminded Draco of the Gryffindor colours when they went to Hogwarts, she had dirty blonde hair, a button nose, and extremely white teeth. She smiled at the group, even though it faltered slightly when she met Pansy's eyes, and she looked extremely nervous when she set her sky blue eyes on Draco.

"Draco, I'd like you to meet Pippa Pearce."

Draco inclined his head politely, "Nice to meet you, Pippa. I'm Draco Malfoy."

Pippa swallowed nervously and took his extended hand while avoiding Draco's eyes. Draco looked at Blaise in question, and he jerked his head in a way that said 'later'.

"This is my girlfriend, Freya Cooper," Draco said to the group at large, and Hermione grinned at Blaise who was watching her closely. Everyone seemed very interested in the girl who had landed Draco; he hadn't had an actual girlfriend that anyone could recall before. Before anyone could really start to question her about her blood status and upbringing Draco suddenly exclaimed, "What are those two wankers doing here?" which diverted everyone's attention to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, who were wandering around the ballroom with flutes of champagne. Hermione looked at them and then glanced away quickly, her eyes meeting a man's brown eyes; he looked vaguely familiar with his straw coloured hair and incredibly tall frame.

"They're popular now, Draco, remember?" Blaise said almost mockingly, causing Draco to grimace and Hermione to divert her attention back to them.

"I can't believe my mother invited those two morons but she explained that because they're so popular with the world, and since they're the faces of the 'light' that they should be invited to attend – we're trying to come across better and having them here should help. I hate them, though, and they better just stay away from us."

"So where did you grow up, Freya?"

"In London," she stated, deciding on making her answers as vague as possible. She noticed the brown-eyed man start to make his way toward them from across the room, he looked intent on joining the group, but before Hermione could point him out Pansy suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! There's that husband of mine! Yours too, Daphne!"

Everyone followed her gaze and who they saw made Hermione's heart drop to her feet. She literally felt as though she'd been kicked in the stomach and was suddenly having a hard time breathing, because the people approaching their group were none other than Marcus Flint and Graham Montague.

Draco's eyes widened momentarily and he grabbed Hermione by the arm above her elbow almost roughly. Blaise's eyebrows shot up in surprise but Draco just looked at him and spit, "We need some air," before hurrying her out of the room. They went outside onto an empty balcony, where Hermione was doing nothing else other than fighting a losing battle with her nausea.

"Oh my God," she said, and rushed to the banister of the balcony where she vomited off the side, clutching her hair in one hand.

She continued to heave harshly over the side of the balcony and she heard Draco murmuring words of comfort behind her; his large hands were on her body, holding her as best as he could in her position.

"I had no idea they'd be here, sweetheart, no idea. I didn't even know they were married, I promise. I haven't seen any of those four in years."

"What's wrong?" they heard, as another voice joined them outside, "I couldn't help but notice how quick you – oh, Hermione, are you okay? What's happened?"

"Blaise," Draco hissed, "Her name is Freya!"

"Hermione?" Pippa asked, curiosity spiked. It wasn't a common name, after all.

"It was a slip up," Blaise said lamely, moving forward and offering Draco his handkerchief.

Hermione slowly straightened out after she felt as though her heaves would be done for good and Draco pressed Blaise's hanky against her forehead, which was slick with sweat. He moved it down to blot underneath her eyes, where tears had beenforced out with the pressure of her vomiting and then lastly wiped her lips.

"I can't go back in there," she said seriously, looking at Draco with such unadulterated fear in her eyes that he wanted to go back in just to commit a serious crime, but he had promised his mother to be on his best behaviour. He couldn't ruin this night for her; she had been unsure about throwing such a party again because they had defected during the war, but it seemed as though everyone was taking it all in their stride.

"We'll wait out here until you're okay," Draco answered, pulling her to his chest.

"What's wrong with going inside?" Blaise asked, which caused Hermione to become very aware of how well Draco had kept the secrets of her youth. He hadn't even told his best friend; instead he shouldered the responsibility of being the only one who _actually_ knew her completely by himself.

And what a responsibility it was.

"Do you think Harry and Ron will recognize me?" she asked suddenly, and a flash of anger went through Draco's eyes. That's when Hermione remembered about Pippa. "Maybe we can just go in and choose a table?" she asked immediately after her first question to try and cover her mistake.

"Are you sure?"

Hermione let out a small bark of laughter, "No, I'm not, but we can't stand out here all night, its freezing!"

So the group trudged back inside, Hermione doing everything in her power to avoid the group of former Slytherin's with her eyes. There was no sense in torturing herself more than was necessary. The group of four chose a table, and that's when a small blonde approached them; she seemed intent on talking to Draco.

"Draco Malfoy?" Draco looked back to the girl with blonde hair and plain brown eyes surrounded by smoky makeup that did nothing bring them to life, "I'm Astoria Greengrass, Daphne and Pansy thought I should come introduce – "

"Not interested," Draco said, cutting the girl off before she could continue her probably well-rehearsed speech and taking Hermione's hand in a very obvious manner.

"Daphne thought that once you met me…"

"Look Ashley, I'm sure that you all thought it would go well for you once I saw what you looked like, but I'm seriously not interested."

"It's Astoria," the girl said, a highly offended look on her face.

"Whatever."

"I don't think you should just write me off, Draco. I'm a pureblood with the same morals as you – " she shot Pippa a degrading look, " – and I think we could really get along."

"I don't care about any of the shite you just tried to feed me, Amber, I'm distinctly not interested."

"It's Astoria."

"Go away," Draco said rudely. The girl huffed and turned her back; Draco looked at Blaise and rolled his eyes.

"It was like I wasn't even here," Hermione commented in her higher than normal voice.

"Welcome to the ways of the Purebloods," Blaise said, laughing a little bit.

"Are you not a pureblood then, Pippa?" Hermione asked, leaning forward to look at the cute blonde.

"No, I'm a muggleborn," she said, but she said it in an almost sad way and shot Draco an almost frightened look.

Hermione grinned. "So am I," she said, and the girl looked more than just a little bit surprised. She hadn't been expecting to hear that Draco's new girlfriend was a muggleborn and Draco and Hermione ended up moving so they could sit directly across the table from Blaise and Pippa; she and Hermione had plenty to talk about.

Hermione was almost hyper-aware of her surroundings though, and anytime someone walked even slightly near their table she would tense up a little bit. Draco dropped a hand to her thigh and was rubbing it in a consoling manner; he had obviously realized how terrified she was at the very thought of the two former Slytherin's coming near her.

"Three o'clock," Blaise said suddenly, and Draco groaned aloud to see the two imbeciles of the century approaching their table.

"Malfoy," Harry Potter said, "How are things?"

"Wonderful," Draco answered drily.

"Who have you got here?" Ron Weasley asked, staring directly at Hermione.

"Oh, this is Freya Cooper," and after a lengthy, purposeful pause, "My girlfriend."

Ron's eyes widened in shock for a moment and the look on Harry's face was really almost comical; Hermione figured if he had been drinking anything at that moment he probably would have either choked or spit it everywhere.

The two former Gryffindor men shared a look between them and Hermione immediately knew they were going to try and get her alone later so they could figure out exactly what was going on, not that she owed them any sort of explanation.

"Now go away," Draco said rudely. Pippa looked absolutely appalled at the way Draco was treating the famous Harry Potter.

They left without an argument and Hermione knew that wouldn't lead to anything good in the long run. "Let's dance," Draco said, hauling her to her feet and into his chest in one fluid movement. She giggled and waved at Blaise and Pippa, who waved back.

"I really like her," Pippa said, leaning into her boyfriend.

"Me too," Blaise said, watching Hermione and Draco laugh together on the dance floor, "She's honestly perfect for him."

"Her name isn't actually Freya, is it?"

"Would you like some champagne?" Blaise asked instead, getting to his feet. Pippa took that as her cue to no longer ask any questions about Freya Cooper.

/

"I really have to use the loo," Hermione said after dancing for a while.

"Should I accompany you?"

"I think I'll be fine… I can't depend on you for everything, Draco. Go sit with Blaise, I'll come back to their table as soon as I get back." Hermione looked at the table she was talking about and noticed the blue-eyed, sandy-haired man from earlier was speaking with Blaise. She dropped a kiss on Draco's lips and left him standing in the middle of the fairly crowded dance floor, he waited a moment before heading toward his friends. She loved the man, had for years, but he sometimes treated her like she couldn't take care of herself and it drove her insane. Sure, she had her fair share of not doing a good job taking care of herself, but she personally felt like it was offset by all the times she had. Of course, Draco was never around for those moments.

Hermione was glad there wasn't a line outside of the bathroom and immediately entered and locked the door behind her. She absolutely hated going to the bathroom while wearing a long gown, but she made it work. She was washing her hands when she heard the single knock on the door; she groaned internally. Harry and Ron had found her.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N- I won't be able to post another chapter until after this weekend. We're doing our family Christmas this weekend instead of next week, so I'll be gone to that and won't even be taking my laptop! Enjoy and I'll post the next chapter once the weekend is over!**

 **Chapter Eight**

"What?" she practically snarled at Harry and Ron when she pulled the bathroom door open. Both men were standing on the opposite side of the hallway and neither looked thrilled with her.

"We just want to speak with you," Harry said, his hands at chest height with his palms facing her in a very blatant 'we're not here to hurt you' stance.

"Well maybe I don't want to speak with either of you," she said, crossing her arms in front of her defiantly.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron pleaded, "it won't take long."

Her resolve broke, just like that. She was just tired of fighting with them.

"Fine. What do you want?" she asked, truthfully expecting an apology.

"We want to pull you from Malfoy Manor and move you," Harry said, pulling no punches.

"Not happening," she stated.

"Why not?"

"What are your reasons for moving me?"

Both men hedged.

"Exactly. You don't have any reasons at all. It isn't happening, I'm staying here where I feel safe."

"You feel safe here? With him? You've got to be taking the piss. I get that you're doing this whole 'girlfriend' ploy so that you were able to attend the ball, but let's be real now."

Hermione bristled. "I am being real. I'm staying here and that's that. The two of you proved how you felt about me the last time I saw you and I'm done with that treatment," Hermione was glad to see both men fidget with their sleeves. "I haven't heard a word of apology from either of you, and that says much more than your words ever could."

"Apology?" Ron asked, actually looking confused.

Hermione gave him the most scathing look she could muster. "If you honestly feel like you have nothing to apologize for then I'm done here."

"You're the one who should be apologizing, 'Mione," Ron said seconds before she exploded in anger.

"I need to apologize?! For what? For being blamed for something that I didn't do and then being basically attacked for it?"

"Stop denying it, it's over and passed. Harry and Ginny are divorced and it's done with, but your continued denial is just making me angry again."

Hermione looked to Harry, who was avoiding her eyes and was looking somewhere over her shoulder.

"It's true," he said, "Ginny and I have been divorced for a month now."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Hermione said, rather stiffly, "but that doesn't change the fact that both you and I know I wasn't in the wrong, Harry."

Harry's eyes cut across the room to Ron quickly, who suddenly seemed intent on going to the washroom.

"I couldn't let them know it was me, Hermione, they're like my family," Harry said quickly as soon as Ron was out of earshot, "I'm sure you understand."

"I don't know why you had to bring it up in the first place and no, I don't understand. You made me out to be a homewrecker when both you and I know that isn't the case. You wanted me, not the other way around."

"It felt like I was lying to Ginny and I couldn't live like that anymore."

"You were lying to Ginny," Hermione pointed out, "and you continued to lie to her and her family afterwards so that you could absolve yourself of any blame. You stood by and watched while Ron struck me over it because you didn't want to come across as the bad guy."

Harry moved forward and had Hermione's hands clutched in his in seconds. "You're right," he breathed, looking down at her through his circular spectacles. "I shouldn't have pushed all of the blame on you, but I was panicking." He held tight as Hermione tried to pull her hands out of his grasp. "But you need to understand how much I love you."

Hermione ripped her hands out of his grasp just as he was leaning down to press his lips to hers and swatted at his face before he could complete the task. He gripped her wrist before she had a chance to connect her palm to his cheek and pulled her hand down while crashing his lips to hers. Hermione struggled in his embrace, but only for a moment, because just as she was readying her knee and aiming it for his crotch Harry was pulled away from her roughly.

Draco, of course.

Hermione almost sighed to herself… it was no wonder he thought she couldn't take care of herself. They'd been in the same cycle of messed up events since they were children.

"Get your filthy hands of my girlfriend, Potter."

"You can drop the act," Harry sniffed, "it's pretty clear it was only so she could attend the ball."

Draco was about to reply, but then he stopped and looked around. Remembering that they were in public with guests that could float around at any moment. Draco gripped Harry by the arm and pulled him outside, telling Hermione to go sit with Blaise and Pippa, which she reluctantly agreed to do.

"Let me make one thing clear to you, Potter," Draco hissed, as soon as they were out of eyesight and earshot of the balconies. "Hermione and I have been heavily involved with each other since we were mere children, and now that I've got her back there's no way I'm going to let a wanker like you fuck it up for me. You kissed her in sixth year and she wanted nothing to do with you then, you kissed her a few months ago in her flat and she again, wanted nothing to do with you. Get it through your head."

Harry looked confused for a moment before he was suddenly laughing out loud. "That's rich, Malfoy," Harry sputtered. "Involved since you were children," he continued sniggering to himself for a few more moments before he finally said, "You're completely barkers."

"No, I'm not. It's funny, Potter, I myself have never considered Hermione to be a very good liar but the fact that she had both you and Weasley fooled for the last ten years is a feat I had never expected from her. Think back, Potter, and think closely – Hermione wasn't really around as often as you'd like to think she was, was she? She was there for the big things, of course, which is probably what has you fooled into thinking she was there a lot, but she wasn't, was she? How often did you actually see her after dinner? How often was she in the common room in the evenings?"

Harry looked bewildered now as he thought about Draco's words, and Draco couldn't help the smirk spreading across his features as he thought of his next plan of attack.

"You're probably wondering where she was, huh? Let me give you a hand with that one; it wasn't the library, like I'm sure you always assumed… she was with me. We met all over that school in secret since we were eleven years old, Potter, all over it. In empty classrooms mostly, at least until we were older and she started coming to my room every evening, and there was, of course, that one extremely memorable encounter we had in a broom closet during lunch in sixth year."

"You're lying," Harry stated, his face slightly flushed. He looked pissed.

"No, I'm not. How would I even have known that you kissed her when we were sixteen unless she told me? I remember clearly how she came to my bedroom that night and was acting a little strange, then when she finally told me what happened how she had to stop me from finding you. I couldn't blow our cover, after all. She found a suitable way to take my mind off of it," Draco stated, grinning wolfishly.

"Stop it," Harry almost yelled, his face extremely red.

"She used to purposely wear emerald green knickers under her uniform when we had shared classes and she would always flash me a quick look. I'd be so turned on by the end of the class that sometimes I'd have to skip the next one in order to take care of my problem. She always has been, and always will be, my little minx."

"STOP IT!" Harry screamed, and his wand was levelled at Draco's head instantly. "Stop lying! Hermione's never had a boyfriend, ever! You're just trying to taint my thoughts of her!"

"She had me as a boyfriend, Potter, from the time we were fourteen until we were seventeen. Even before we were officially dating, we always had each other… literally since I was eleven years old."

"I don't believe you," the dark haired wizard stated, trying to reign in his control. Draco knew he wouldn't just attack him for speaking, he was an Auror after all and wouldn't want to jeopardize his job because of a temper tantrum.

"Call Hermione out here then, Potter. She can tell you."

"Tell you what?" Ron asked, having finally found them in the garden.

Harry sent his patronus into the manor in search of Hermione and they all stood in an extremely tense silence for the next few minutes until they heard footsteps approaching. They all turned as one and watched the disguised Hermione approach, followed closely by Blaise and Pippa. Draco smirked at her cunning, she knew Ron would be out here as well and didn't want Draco to be stuck two on one.

Blaise could back up their story, even though he only caught the tail end of their relationship. He still saw what was clearly the morning after a good shag on more than one occasion.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked, stopping a fair distance away from all three men.

"Is it true?" he asked, unable to say the words.

Hermione sighed, she had a pretty good idea what had just happened. She didn't say anything and opted to look between the three men before her, Ron looked genuinely confused, so Hermione surmised that he had missed most of the argument, Harry looked upset and almost like he was going to be ill and Draco looked satisfied. The latter had definitely spilled the beans.

"He wants to know if it's true that I fucked you when we were fourteen and continued to do it for the next three years."

"What?!" Ron roared, but Draco ignored him and kept speaking. Even though Hermione should have been pissed off at him for being so crass, she found herself getting slightly aroused by the crude words dropping from his lips; words orchestrated to specifically hurt Harry and Ron. "He doesn't believe that you used to wear your naughty little knickers to class and give me a secret peek just to drive me crazy, or that sometimes you missed lunch because you were otherwise indisposed in a broom closet or even in the grounds, if it was nice, with me. He definitely doesn't want to believe that you spent so much time in my rooms with me."

Blaise shifted uncomfortably at one specific memory of Draco's room being occupied by the witch before him, but no one but Pippa seemed to notice. The girl looked genuinely confused – she did not remember a Freya Cooper who had went to Hogwarts and was friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

"Aculateum!" Ron screamed, sending a stinging hex that caught the unsuspecting Draco in the arm.

He hissed and his eyes darkened with anger, shaking out his arm he turned his attention to Ron.

"Stop it, Ron," Hermione scolded, moving into the strange circle the three men made.

"Is it true?!" Harry roared, and Hermione knew that he was holding onto his temper by a thread.

"Yes, Harry. It's true. It's also not as crude as Draco's making it seem; we were in love… are in love," she corrected, looking at Draco and giving him a small, almost shy smile. "It all started off innocently enough, we were eleven and would sometimes just talk. He was my friend before either of you, by the way, but you hated him so blindly that I knew I couldn't say anything about our friendship. As the years went by… well it turned into more than that…" and then Hermione stopped talking because the look on Harry's face was truly frightening. Pippa was watching their interactions closely and Hermione realized that she had probably just figured everything out.

Harry looked like he was about to murder someone and Ron didn't waste any more time in sending another clean stinging hex at Draco; but the blonde was ready for it this time. He spun out of its way and once he was clear of Hermione he screamed, "Affligo!" and watched as Harry doubled over in pain when the hex caught him directly in the face.

"Stop!" Hermione yelled, but she was yanked out of the firing zone by Blaise, who pushed her toward Pippa and joined in the fight. All four men were going at it now, jinxes and hexes were flying in every direction and Hermione pulled Pippa even farther away, worried that the girl didn't know how to fight.

Thankfully, she was a healer, so if anything got out of hand then the girl could do the necessary spells to heal the hurt party.

Hermione wasn't about to be left on the sidelines like some helpless girl; she had fought in the war, after all. She jumped back into the fray and was on the same side as Ron and Harry when she shouted out "Protego!" and the shield was so powerful that everyone stopped immediately, in awe of the amount of power the witch before them possessed.

Unfortunately, Hermione placed herself on the side of the shield with two people who could have probably done without seeing her for a while. Hermione understood that they were angry, she really did; she even felt a little bad about keeping everything from them for so long, but she didn't owe them anything and Draco was the most important person to her, bottom line.

She turned to apologize to Harry and Ron, she wanted them to understand that they could work things out and everyone could be part of her life, everyone could be happy.

She met Harry's eyes and was instantly frightened for her life. She wanted to blame the shoes she was wearing for not being able to move out of the way on time; even though she knew the fact of the matter is that she never truly expected Harry Potter to hurt her in such a way, so her guard was down.

"Sectumsempra!" Harry screamed at her, brandishing his wand more than was necessary in his fit of rage. Ron gasped and tried to deflect the spell, but it was too late. Hermione's shield dropped when she hit the ground, blood spurting out onto the snow. Draco just stood there and stared at his girlfriend for a moment, almost as if he didn't understand what had just happened. He knew what the incantation meant since he had been on the receiving end of it before as well, but it just didn't register in his brain as quickly as it should have.

"Harry!" Ron yelled as he pushed the dark haired wizard away from himself, desperate to get to Hermione, who was bleeding rather heavily into the otherwise pure white snow, "What the fuck, mate?!"

Blaise bounded forward and looked up to yell at Pippa for help, but she was nowhere in sight. Draco was frozen to the spot, he didn't want to accept why the shield had dropped and why Hermione was laying on the ground. It was when she was blocked from his sight by Blaise and Weasley that he seemed to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend was incredibly hurt.

His anger overtook him immediately, an anger that rivaled the time he was sixteen and found his girlfriend beaten and broken on an old classroom floor.

Without even considering the stick of wood in his hand, he charged the dark haired wizard standing before him, a sort of war cry tearing from his lungs. Harry, for the most part, seemed stunned that he would do something like that to someone he loved in a fit of rage, he didn't even seem to realize that Draco was running at him and screaming until the blond had punched him so hard in the face that he was knocked clean off of his feet.

Harry was sure Draco was going to continue to fight him, but he had disappeared from Harry's sight immediately and upon sitting up, Harry realized he had went to Hermione.

"Draco," she was whimpering, blood bubbling from her lips as her hand scrabbled through the snow to try and find his. Her beautiful gown was ripped open across the bodice and blood was seeping out rapidly. Draco wanted to cry.

"It's all going to be alright," Draco reassured, about to tell Ron to go find Snape.

"I love you," she whispered, blood seeping everywhere, "Don't ever forget that."

So much blood.

The blood that had helped to change his life.

"Don't say that!" he yelled, angry that she was going to give up, "just don't! You're going to be fine!"

How dare she attempt to let go, just like that?

"Move," he heard as he was shoved to the side. He turned to start screaming at the newcomer until he realized it was Severus; relief lit up his eyes for a fleeting second.

"I know of only one person who can perform the counter-curse," Pippa was saying to Blaise, who looked like he could just kiss her for thinking on her feet. "He's been trying to teach it to a handful of healers, but it's incredibly advanced magic," she was saying, but stopped when she realized that no one was listening to her.

Draco was shaking as he watched his mother's lover sing the counter curse that was siphoning the blood back into Hermione's unresisting body. "We have to move her to a bedroom immediately after Severus is done so I can finish healing the cuts, Draco. It will take a while before she's fully healed, though, so you're going to have to be there for her."

"I know exactly how long this takes, thanks," he said shortly to his best friend's girlfriend, his eyes skipping by her and falling on Harry Potter. "Why'd you do this?!" He screamed suddenly, "Are you that petty? You couldn't have her, so no one could?!"

"I'm sorry," the wizard muttered, and Draco could see that he had tear tracks on his face.

"Sorry isn't good enough! Not only have you attacked me with this curse, now Hermione too! You can't even use the excuse that you didn't know what it would do this time, not like you did with me."

"I'm sorry," he said again, "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Get out of here!" Draco screamed, and Ron took one frightened look at his face before taking Harry by the arm and leading him away. "I'll be contacting the proper authorities," the blond yelled at their retreating backs.

"It's time to move her into the house," Severus stated, levitating Hermione and walking away with her.

"I'm sorry, mate," Blaise s _aid_ to Draco as they followed the procession into the house, "I wasn't expecting anything bad to happen, I thought everyone needed to just work off some steam."

They all stopped so Severus could put a disillusionment charm on Hermione's slumbering body. If anyone were to see her being levitated it would cause too many questions.

"I was goading them, it was really my fault. I should have expected it, to be honest, I really got Potter's knickers in a twist before you guys got there."

"It's no one else's fault but his own that he can't control his temper… and this time it'll come back to bite him. He's an Auror! He can't just go attacking innocent people because they've said something he doesn't like."

"We'll see… Saint Potter always gets off the hook."

"If he does there's a serious problem with our government system."

Once they reached the sitting room of Draco and Hermione's shared wing Pippa turned to Blaise and said, "You should go ahead home, I'll see you tomorrow but I need to stay and help heal her."

"Take her to my room," Draco told Severus at the same time.

"I'll see you later, then," Blaise said in understanding before kissing his girlfriend. He clapped Draco on the back and went back downstairs to the floo.

/

Narcissa was understandably angry about being kept in the dark about what had happened with Hermione. When she was informed the next morning by Severus after she had asked about Draco and hers whereabouts she stormed upstairs to check in on them.

"I can't believe you didn't inform me about this!" she snarked at Draco, who was stacking a pile of books on the bedside table. Hermione was unnaturally pale, almost the same colour as the creamy looking sheets she was laid upon. Narcissa could see a nasty cut extending from the girls nightgown, it looked to be much like Draco's, a diagonal cut that probably started somewhere near her hip and extended right up to the opposite shoulder. Narcissa had seen her own son's scars often enough to know that Hermione would be marked for life.

"You were hosting an extremely busy ball, Mother. I didn't want to disturb you."

"She almost died," Narcissa trilled loudly, and Draco was surprised by the emotion in her voice.

Then he remembered that he wasn't the only one in his family home who cared about the witch laying before him. Narcissa had taken to her immediately after she moved into their home six months previously. Draco himself knew how easy it was to fall for the girl and apparently that was no different for his mother. Well, different sexual aspects, but that's it.

"You're right, I'm sorry, mother. That was extremely insensitive of me."

Narcissa just waved him off and sat on the side of the bed, clutching Hermione's hand in hers and staring at her still pale face.

"Tell me everything," the blonde woman said, and Draco sat on the couch at the bottom of the bed and told her everything that had happened the evening before with Potter.

/

"I expect measures to be taken," Narcissa said frostily to the Minister of Magic. She had demanded a meeting with him the day she had found out what exactly had happened with Hermione and refused to wait more than two days to be squeezed into his 'busy schedule'.

Draco had accompanied her and was sitting stiffly in front of Kingsley Shacklebolt, waiting to hear what would happen with Harry Potter.

"Harry has already seen me about this matter and has explained that he was provoked and Hermione caught a spell that ricocheted."

"What?" Draco spluttered, sitting forward quickly; he stopped speaking when he felt the pressure on his shoulder from his mother's firm hand.

"That is a bold faced lie and just another way for that Potter boy to squeeze out of a situation that he caused. I would appreciate if you would allow me to bring forth a couple witnesses who can assure you of the truth?"

Kingsley was annoyed now – he did not enjoy when people purposely cut down Harry in front of him, but he waved his hand in agreeance. Narcissa slipped from the room and Kingsley did his best to avoid the Malfoy heir's eyes; they were a light grey and made him slightly uncomfortable. Draco Malfoy was the epitome of class and sophistication and even though Kingsley was the Minister of Magic, he wasn't raised the same way. The boy intimidated him that was for sure; he couldn't let on about it, though, or he'd be bowing to the young man over every little thing. Add his waning comfort and intimidation on to the fact that he was being glared at fiercely by the man in front of him and he knew that today was just not going to be his day.

Narcissa Malfoy came back into his office with two more people who were quickly introduced as Blaise Zabini and Pippa Pierce.

"Can you believe Potter told the Minister that Hermione caught a ricocheting spell?" Draco asked as soon as the introductions were over. The reactions from his friends were understandable and immediate. Blaise spluttered in outrage and Pippa mostly looked sad – she had always considered Harry Potter a hero until she saw his actions at the ball. She completely understood why her boyfriend and his friends held nothing but ill will toward the ' _savi_ our'.

"Would you care to tell me what it is you think you saw then, Miss. Pierce?"

"I don't 'think' I saw it, I know I saw it, sir. Hermione moved me away from the fight and then ran back in, but she standing right beside Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She put a shield charm between the four men, which effectively stopped their duel, and turned to Harry. I'm not sure what she was going to say but I could tell she was going to say something; before she could even get any words out Harry Potter turned to her and cursed her purposefully. The Weasley fellow tried to deflect the spell, but he wasn't quick enough. The moment she hit the ground I sent a Patronus to find Severus Snape, and followed it to ensure he understood how quickly we needed his assistance; because I heard the spell that Harry Potter shouted and knew Severus Snape was the only person who could fix it, and with a spell like that one time is of the essence."

Kingsley said nothing, but turned his dark brown eyes to Blaise Zabini, who nodded emphatically. "That is exactly what happened, Sir. You can't just attack someone of innocence because someone else provoked them… and he's an Auror, he knows that. If it's any consolation, though, Ron Weasley did seem disgusted by what had taken place. He shouted at Harry as soon as he realized his deflection didn't work…"

"Something better be done about this, Minister," Draco started, "My girlfriend is at home, bound to the bed for at least a week so she can heal properly. Are you aware that Harry Potter used the exact same curse on me when we were sixteen? He got away with it then because Dumbledore was always blind to the wankers' actions, but I expect the law to be followed this time."

"I will speak to both Harry and Ron again about this matter this evening when they're off the clock."

"I expect retribution, Minister," Narcissa stated, one eyebrow ascending on her beautiful face while her sky blue eyes fixed on the man in a glare. "If something isn't done then you can just forget about the donation that's in the works for the Department of Mysteries."

"Are you threatening me, Mrs. Malfoy?" Kingsley asked, shocked.

"Yes," the woman deadpanned before striding from the room with her aristocratic son and his friends in tow.

Kingsley let out a breath. He really was looking forward to that donation, but there was no way that Harry would purposely hurt someone innocent… right?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N- I'm back from my short holiday! It was amazing other than the fact that there was about two feet of snow that fell in a few days and we almost crashed like a million times on our way home because people just can't seem to keep their foot of the brakes on icy roads - but it was still so much fun! I was aiming to have the entire story posted by Christmas, but since it's only four days away I just don't see that happening, but definitely by the New Year! I'll be making one more post before Christmas day, though!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Nine**

Draco was at the table eating a leisurely breakfast the weekend following his mother's meeting with the Minister. Hermione had come down from his bed to try and eat with the family; she was tired of being cooped up in his room and in his bed when she couldn't even have any fun in it.

She moved gingerly, almost like an old woman would. Even though she tried to put up a brave front and act fine in front of everyone the pain she was constantly feeling made her eyes slightly shadowed _._

Draco was worried about her. She had been incredibly quiet the last week and even though he spent most of his free time with her, they barely spoke. He knew and completely understood that she was upset, who wouldn't be when one of their best friends of ten years tried to kill them in a jealous rage? He just wanted her to talk to him about what was bothering her, but he wasn't going to pressure her into speaking, he knew her well enough to know that she would speak to him when she was ready. It took her almost two months to talk to him about what had occurred in the classroom in the dungeons in their sixth year… he would wait until she was ready.

Severus walked into the room and tossed the weekend edition of the Daily Prophet onto the table beside Draco, who looked at the front page and almost choked on his crumpet.

"Well, I'll be," Draco said, once he had managed to swallow his f _ood._

 _"Auror Potter Suspended witho_ ut Pay" read the head _line._

 _"Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt confirmed early this morning that he has suspended one of his best Aurors for using an illegal curse on an innocent bystander. Apparently the famous Auror Potter was having a disagreement of some sort when he turned and cursed someone who was just trying to help. The Minister refused to go into any more detail about what had specifically happened, who was cursed, and which spell was used, but he did tell us that Potter would be without pay for a minimum of four_ weeks."

Draco read the story aloud so Hermione knew that Potter had at least gotten into trouble for what he had done to her.

"He should have been fired," Narcissa snarled, and Draco silently agreed.

"This is better than nothing, though," Hermione said sadly, before squeezing Draco's hand and leaving the table slowly and carefully. The pain made her fully aware that the laceration on the front of her torso was still far from completely healed. He and his mother shared a look and both turned to watch her leave.

"She just needs time," Draco said immediately after Hermione was out of earshot, "I know her, I know after a bit of time she'll be alright."

"I'm not so sure," Narcissa said, "she's really upset. I mean… one of her best friends tried to kill her…"

"Believe it or not, mother, she's been through worse. She'll pull through this."

"Worse?" Narcissa asked, eyes wide.

Draco grimaced and shared a look with Severus before excusing himself from the breakfast table. If the man wanted to go into details and tell Narcissa what Hermione had endured through school, he could go right ahead; Draco was not going to be the one to tell her though. It would be inappropriate and extremely awkward.

Draco was almost to the staircase when he heard the floo activate. Within ten seconds stomping feet exited the sitting room and an extremely irate Italian man screamed, "Four weeks?! This is complete bullshit! If it had been you who had cast that spell you'd have already been in Azkaban for a week!"

"I already told you, Zabini, Potter gets away with everything he does."

"There's something wrong with our government," the man answered, heading into the dining room to help himself to some breakfast.

/

Hermione entered her own bedroom after her light breakfast, she missed the smell of her own things; it sounded weird, but it made totally perfect sense. Plus she wanted her iPod, but couldn't ask Draco to find it because she really didn't want him in her room without her.

Paranoid for a reason, apparently, because when she entered her room she saw an envelope on the vanity. She approached it warily on slow and careful feet, her torso wound pulling with any step that was too long, and picked it up. It felt heavier than usual.

She opened it and wasn't surprised to see and read the usual letter, but for some reason it had a much more personal feeling to it, this time. He was using her name… and he had never actually used her name before. It was always, "scum" or "bitch" or "mudblood", never, ever, "Hermione" and she felt incredibly unnerved to see it there in his strange penmanship. She looked at the picture in her hand and her skin drained of the little amount of colour she already possessed. It was a picture of Hermione dressed up as Freya, and in the loop Harry Potter turned to her with rage in his eyes and stance before he reached out with his wand and knocked her flat. Ron tried to deflect the spell and Draco looked terribly blank in the background.

Hermione whimpered slightly and slammed her eyes shut before blindly stuffing the photo back into the envelope and thrusting it into her drawer. She went to her bed and found her iPod underneath her pillow, and then decided to climb in carefully, very aware of her wound. Once she was settled she plugged into her headphones, put her iPod on shuffle and promptly fell asleep. Even walking to the dining room and back was exhausting.

/

Draco checked on Hermione to see her passed out in her own bed with her iPod blaring away. He didn't know how to work the blasted thing, so he left her alone and went to their shared sitting room in their wing, wondering vaguely if Blaise was going to come see him after he ate or just go home. He laid back on one of the couches, his feet up on the arm and thought about everything that had occurred in his life. He realized now that spending his free time drinking himself into a stupor was… just incredibly stupid. He had friends who were drinking regularly so it was easy enough to find them and join in, but he should have been putting that time toward something constructive, like trying to win Hermione back. He had just never imagined that she would want anything to do with him after his serious betrayal of her love and trust.

He had been an idiot.

But he hadn't been drinking much since they got back together, so he could at least be proud of that. She really was the best thing for him, no doubt about that.

He was fantasizing about their future together when Blaise stormed into the sitting room, an incredibly accusatory look on his face.

Draco was immediately on his guard.

"Raped?!" He all but screamed, and Draco furrowed his brow and shushed him immediately. Hermione would be extremely upset if she heard the man up here screaming about her personal life.

"Keep it down," the blond snarled, propping his feet up on the table and calling his house elf for a drink.

"I'm sorry," Blaise said, and Draco had a feeling that he wasn't apologizing for screaming just now.

Draco shrugged and relieved the house elf of his glass of water before dismissing him. "It was a long time ago."

"How old was she?" Blaise asked, and Draco gave him a strange look… did her age really matter?

"She was sixteen… and I don't know why that matters at all."

"I just… well I was just hoping that she wasn't a virgin when it happened."

"She wasn't," Draco snapped, "not that that made it any less devastating for her. She was a mess for months."

"It makes sense, now that I know. I remember her always showing up for class like she wasn't sure how she got there, she didn't answer a single question for almost an entire term. I remember one time I was late for potions and saw her just standing in the hallway staring at the door… she seemed really scared but I didn't know her then."

"That's where she was initially attacked, I found her in the old potions room… the one that hadn't been used for at least thirty years," Draco sat forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees, "it was truly horrific, what they did to her. I still get angry when I think about it."

"They?" Blaise asked, his eyes wide.

"Did Severus not tell you anything?"

"No details."

"They. Flint and Montague. I found her in the potions classroom passed out in an odd position against the wall. I'm an idiot and hadn't even realized at first what had happened, I thought she had just gotten into a fight or something. I healed her numerous broken bones and cuts, but then I noticed that her tights were missing, tights that I knew she had on previously because I had been with her earlier that night. Blaise… I'll never be able to explain the feeling in my stomach and chest when I realized exactly what had happened. I saw her tights on the floor…" Draco stopped in order to get a hold of himself, going over this was hard. He hadn't spoken about it aloud since he had confided in Severus when he was sixteen. He cleared his throat. "I saw her tights, and they were destroyed… totally ripped apart, and then I noticed her bra was there as well, also ripped apart. I couldn't even breathe for a few moments, it was like all the breath had been pulled from my lungs and I couldn't get any air in. I was so nauseous and only just managed to not vomit on the floor… I'll never be able to explain it, but I never wanted to feel that way again. I felt that way again a week ago."

Blaise nodded in complete understanding now, it made sense why Hermione and Draco were quick to flee when the two men showed up at the ball. He felt awful that his friend hadn't felt that he was able to confide in him when his girlfriend of two years was raped. What kind of friend was he?

"I'm sorry you had no one to confide in," Blaise started, saddened by his friend's composure at the moment. Draco was holding himself together by a thread, Blaise could tell. He had had a rough life, and as far as Blaise was concerned he deserved a little normalcy.

"I had Severus, obviously," Draco replied, desperately wanting the conversation to end, "he knew that Hermione and I were dating about two hours after I made it official."

"I can't believe you kept all of that from me, by the way."

"I could hardly tell you, Blaise, those other Slytherin wankers were always hanging around eavesdropping on everything. Could you imagine what would happen if they found out? Finding her in that potions room the way I did would have been laughable to what would have happened if they had found out, and that's why I still curse myself for how reckless we had been. It was stupid to have her come to my rooms so often, totally moronic."

"Well, she never got caught there."

"Not by anyone other than you, thank Merlin."

"I can't believe Flint and Montague are still alive, to be honest."

"It wasn't an accident that Montague ended up in that cabinet, Zabini. It was just too bad it didn't kill him. As for Flint… well I was a little more subtle, but I'm fairly sure that he will never sire an heir, which according to some purebloods is just as bad as death."

Blaise laughed.

"Poor Hermione," he said, sobering up fairly quickly.

"She's been dealt a rough hand, that's for sure. I just want her to have a normal life, to be happy without having to pay some sort of consequence. I feel like I'm a curse for her, or something."

"Just try and remember how awful it would have been for her if you weren't there," Blaise said, leaning back in his chair and giving Draco a knowing look.

Draco nodded.

"Although, something needs to be done. Retribution."

"I've wanted to murder them for years and used all of my self-control at the ball, but I know Hermione would be upset if I went to Azkaban for life because of those fuckers."

"We'll think of something," Blaise answered after a moment, a manic glint in his eye.

/

The winter months passed quickly and melted into spring, which was short lived as the sun threw a considerable amount of heat, bringing summer quicker than anyone could have imagined.

Hermione had been at the manor for over a year.

A year, and the serial killer still hadn't been caught, although Hermione had received tons of letters. It got to the point where she had stopped opening them and just tossed them in the drawer. She really didn't understand why the psycho hadn't come for her yet. She had to wonder if he was waiting for something.

She had pretty much moved permanently into Draco's room, but Narcissa had bought her so many things that she still had to keep her own clothes in her room – Draco's closet just wasn't big enough for his things as well as hers. Luckily for her, in her opinion, the letters she had received were all still being delivered to her own room and Draco never stepped foot in it.

Hermione had come to terms with the fact that Harry had essentially tried to murder her and her and Draco had many conversations about it, but the fact that Hermione had two new friends in the form of Blaise and Pippa helped her to move passed her decimated friendships with her former friends.

Five months after she had been attacked by Harry, Hermione had been sitting at in the dining room when the Daily Prophet was dropped in front of her by Severus. He was showing her the article about another murder, but she was immediately distracted by two separate articles.

"Marcus Flint was attacked last night by numerous people in a pub in Bristol," it read, "He had been shouting about how You-Know-Who should have won the war and seemed to be really out of control. He was rushed to St. Mungo's after one of the attackers felt guilty enough to stop what had been started. He was listed in critical condition, but passed away late in the night. Marcus is outlived by his wife Pansy Flint, nee Parkinson."

Hermione was shocked, but not upset.

"Graham Montague was found murdered in his home early this morning; it seems as though he was tied to a chair before he was beaten brutally and force fed a poisonous potion. The Auror's learned upon searching his house that he was in possession of many dark artifacts and it can only be assumed that he was mixing with the wrong people again. His wife, Daphne Montague, nee Greengrass, has refused to comment."

Hermione never asked Draco about it, but she was pretty sure he had something to do with the two deaths. She didn't want to know, though, because if she didn't know, she couldn't be questioned about it.

/

"Another murder," Draco said calmly, dropping into his seat at the breakfast table across from Hermione, who felt her stomach clench with the news.

"Who now?" she asked, but dreaded the answer; she had known every single one of the eighteen muggleborn males who had been murdered, which she found odd, really. Especially the fact that they were all men.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley."

Hermione stared at her plate.

"You knew him, I'm assuming."

"Yes. I've known them all. Something is weird about that, isn't it?"

"I want us to have a nice dinner tonight... alone," Draco said instead of answering her, watching her closely. He knew she was going a little stir crazy, being in this house constantly for such a long time, and he knew that she was also upset from so many of her school friends being murdered.

"Okay," she said quietly, and Draco almost didn't want to go to work. Nevertheless, he stood from his quick breakfast and rounded the table, giving her a kiss before heading out for the day. "I love you," he said, which was something he didn't tell her often.

She smiled softly at him, "I love you too," she replied, reaching up and running a finger down his cheek, "Have a good day at work."

Now that Hermione had a dinner alone with Draco in the works, she decided to spend the day pampering herself. She spent the morning reading a book in Draco's bed, just to waste some time, but when she was bored of that she headed for the bathroom the pair of them shared. She had plenty of time to waste still, so she soaked in the tub for ages in the nice smelling potions Narcissa had purchased for her months ago. She used the exquisite hair removal cream on her body before using a straightening potion on her hair. As she climbed from the tub she couldn't help but to look at herself in the mirror; even naked, she looked so much more sophisticated than she had when she came to the manor for safety. The only thing marring her body was the huge scar from her right hip to her left shoulder – it still managed to look angry and somewhat fresh.

She hated the damn thing, but whenever she saw Draco's she felt somehow closer to him. Their scars matched, after all.

Hermione gave herself a tentative smile and went into her own room to dress for the evening, choosing a racy pair of knickers to wear underneath her dress. She decided to forgo a bra altogether. Hermione chose a short cocktail dress that had a severe neckline and no sleeves; the skirt of the dress was tulle and ended plenty of inches above her knees. She decided to leave her hair down, since she had used a straightening potion on it, and even went as far as to put on eyeshadow.

Once Draco was ready to go down to dinner Hermione looked like perfection.

She could tell, by the way Draco's eyes darkened upon seeing her.

Hermione met him in his room and he took her hand to lead her to the dining room.

"Mum and Severus went out for once," Draco said randomly, and Hermione thought that Draco seemed a little bit nervous for some reason.

"That's good," she said, "They deserve to get out of here sometimes. I feel guilty that they always have to stay home so I'm not here alone."

"Don't feel guilty, they love you."

Draco pulled out Hermione's chair and she took a seat, settling her napkin in her lap while Draco circled the table to his own place setting.

He fidgeted the entire meal.

"What is wrong with you?" Hermione finally asked after he dropped his fork, yet again.

"Nothing's wrong with me," he answered, somewhat stiffly.

"Draco… I've known you for eleven years. I've never seen you this unsettled before, so obviously something's going on." Then Hermione's stomach dropped. "Does it have to do with the murderer?"

"What? No, I would tell you something like that right away!"

"So there is something then."

"Damn it, Granger!" He sat there and stared at her for a moment, making her feel incredibly self-conscious.

"Just tell me what's wrong… please?"

"I have a speech," he said, swallowing hard while staring at her and she suddenly knew exactly what was happening.

"Go on, then," she said, giving him a winning smile before sitting back in her chair, her arms crossed loosely in front of her.

Draco cleared his throat and stood from his chair, "Hermione, you know how much I love you, and you know that you're my entire world, but what you don't know is that sometimes I worry that I wouldn't be able to live without you by my side. When we were apart for those four years I drank, I drank because I was scared I would never get this feeling back again, and I didn't want to give any other girl even a small chance to give it to me.

"I want us to move on in our lives together, I want to be there for you as you've been for me, and I want to make you as happy as you've made me; even if it takes the rest of my life. I don't ever want us to keep secrets, or lie to one another about anything, and I don't ever want us to grow old without the other. I don't think I could grow old without you; you're a part of me, and you've been a part of me since I was eleven years old. I shudder to think what I might be without you, and I know I never want the possibility of not having you as my own. So with that being said," Draco grinned, because Hermione had known exactly what was happening before he even started speaking, and that was one of the things he was talking about. They just knew each other, "Will you please do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Yes," Hermione said simply the second Draco stopped speaking, grinning madly at him.

Draco opened the ring box that appeared suddenly in his hand and plucked out the engagement ring; Hermione extended her left hand immediately so Draco could settle her new ring there. She examined it and gasped while Draco looked at her nervously.

"This… this is perfect," Hermione said, looking at the stone that shimmered both green and red, smaller diamonds surrounding the centre stone.

"It's a black opal," Draco said, somewhat proudly, "I thought the way the green and red mixed together was… well yeah, perfect."

Hermione threw her arms around Draco's neck, pushing her body against his in a tight hug. They held on for a few moments, and when Hermione pulled back to tell him how much she loved him his lips were on hers before she could speak; Draco moved his hands down to her butt and lifted her so her legs wrapped around his waist. He carried her all the way to his bedroom like that, their lips meeting periodically, and whenever Hermione would pull away to let him breathe (especially on the staircase) she moved her lips to his neck and had already started unbuttoning his suit jacket before they were even close to his bedroom.

/

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling ill, stressed and guilty.

Draco had specifically told her the night before, while proposing, that he didn't want any secrets between the two of them; she knew he was referring to himself, but that didn't make the fact that she was hiding things any easier.

She had to show him the letters, she knew that for sure now but she needed to find a way to go about it without hurting him too badly. She shouldn't have let them stay a secret for as long as she had, that was the bottom line.

She'd fucked up, yet again.

/

Hermione was planning on telling Draco about the letters the weekend after they got engaged; she didn't want to stress him out during the week because he had to go to work, but she knew she needed to tell him as soon as she could.

She didn't.

Blaise and Pippa had spent the weekend with them at the manor to celebrate their engagement, and Narcissa and Severus even threw them a 'party', which included all six of them and a dinner.

"Once everything is settled with all of this business, we will throw you a proper party, dear," Narcissa was saying, and Hermione could tell the older witch was feeling bad for her.

"This is perfect, Narcissa," Hermione assured, smiling at her.

"I know you feel that way, dear, but we need to present your engagement to society properly, right darling?"

Draco and Hermione shared a look that clearly stated they both didn't care about being presented to society properly, but then Draco smiled and said, "That's correct, mother. As soon as this is dealt with you can plan the biggest party you want."

Hermione watched Narcissa float away to tell Severus there was going to be an upcoming ball, she couldn't help but smile. If planning a ball made Narcissa happy then Hermione was all for it.

Draco wrapped his arms around her waist from the back as Hermione leaned her head against his chest.

"I think I might love your mum, too," Hermione said, "and Blaise and Pippa."

"They all definitely love you. Blaise has a soft spot in his heart for you… I'm not sure why, really, but it's there."

"Did Blaise ever tell you about the time he found me sitting by the Black Lake?" Hermione asked, turning in Draco's arms to face him.

"No," Draco said, looking suspicious right away.

"Really? It was when we were sixteen and only about a week after you found me in the old potions room. You remember how messed up I was, I'm sure, and I was sitting out there because of something crass Harry and Ron had done; I don't remember what now. Anyway, I was upset, and I was holding in so many things and so many fears and they all just came out while I was out there alone. I felt a hand on my shoulder and nearly jumped out of my skin, it was Blaise and some other Slytherin, but I didn't know him then, of course. All I knew was that I was outside alone with two Slytherin's and… well I'm sure you can imagine how skittish I was. I remember jumping to my feet and retreated quickly until I was on the bank of the lake, dangerously close to the water, now that I think about it. I was kind of crouching, I don't know why, but Blaise put his hands up and ensured me he wasn't there to hurt me. I probably looked like a wounded animal or something.

"Anyway, he was comforting me, Draco, and I remember it was the strangest thing, and the Slytherin he brought with him was just kind of hovering in the background like he didn't want to approach me, but he also didn't want to leave. I assured Blaise that I was fine even though he caught me crying so hard I could barely breathe, and he told me if I ever needed to speak to anyone that he would be willing to lend an ear. He knew something bad had happened, I could tell."

"Hermione… I need to tell you something."

She was instantly on her guard.

"What is it?"

"Blaise… well actually Blaise and my mother… and also Severus… they all know what happened to you. I'm sorry, but let me explain," he said, putting a finger to her lips, "I told Severus almost immediately after it happened, and you need to understand that I needed someone to support me at that time too. It was hard for me as well, and I needed someone to talk to… I just knew I could trust Severus. After your incident last winter with Potter, my mom was extremely worried about your well-being and I told her that I knew you'd be fine because you were so strong and had been through so much worse. Well… I guess when Severus was finally explaining everything to my mum, Blaise overheard. He was extremely upset with me for keeping something like that from him."

Hermione just sighed. She couldn't even be mad about it, not at all.

"I understand," she said, and Draco was visibly relieved, "and I'm sorry that you had to keep secrets from your friends."

"Who was with Blaise? At the lake?"

"I have no idea, he didn't introduce himself to me and I've never been in a situation where I needed to know his name."

"Did you ever go talk to Blaise about anything?"

"No, not ever. I hadn't seen him again until he caught me in your bedroom. That was probably a huge shock for the poor guy."

Draco laughed.

"He was incredibly confused. It took me a while to explain everything to him, but he's been my best friend since we were young children and could see how happy I was. Plus, the fact that we had already been together for years pretty much made it clear that if he wanted to be around he would accept it."

"I want to ask you about something," Hermione stated, looking up into Draco's eyes. She could tell that he knew exactly what she was going to ask and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment.

"Go on, then."

"Did you kill them? Flint and Montague?"

Hermione had enough sense to ask the question quietly.

"Of course I did. Well, Flint's death was more of a convenient mob, but the actions leading up to it were definitely planned."

"You did it alone?"

Draco took Hermione's hand and led her further from the other occupants of the room. This should have been something discussed behind their closed bedroom door, but he knew she would ask at some point ever since she had read the articles in the paper.

"No."

"Tell me what happened."

"After Blaise found out what happened I had to go into details, he wanted to know them and I wasn't going to deny him after I had lied to him for quite some time about things. Anyway… speaking about it just… it made me angry all over again and I realized I let them get away with it. I couldn't do that. They didn't deserve wives, they didn't deserve to be walking around enjoying their lives. Not after everything they did to you. Severus made us a potion to use on Montague… it was quite effective."

"Severus did?!"

"He was never happy that they were able to walk free, either, but I made him swear to keep his mouth closed when we were younger. I told you, he loves you."

"What else?"

"I'm not going to tell you everything that happened, Hermione. Just know we did it and they're never going to enter our lives again.

"What are you talking about?" Blaise asked as he and Pippa approached the engaged couple. Hermione jumped.

"You, actually," Draco said quickly, covering up their most recent conversation "You never told me you ran into Hermione once and tried to comfort her."

Blaise just shrugged, unsure if he should tell Draco why he didn't want to inform him, especially in front of Hermione.

"Well?" Draco asked, and Blaise sighed.

"Look, when we were in school you were outwardly prejudiced against muggleborns, and I'm sorry to say that in front of Hermione, but it's the truth. You were a right bastard about it most of the time and I felt like you were just parroting a lot of the things your dad said to keep your ass safe in the Slytherin house, but I wasn't for sure on that. I was hardly going to approach you and inform you that I had just been comforting one of the most well-known muggleborns in school when I was completely unaware of your relationship with her."

"And after? When you did know?"

"It wasn't important enough for me to tell you about, Draco. I saw a girl crying hysterically on the bank of the lake one day, approached her to find that it was a terrified Hermione Granger, offered her some kind words and moved on with my day. No offense, Hermione. Of course I know what had happened now, and if I had known then I probably would have ripped someone apart, but… that's the way it goes."

"Are you upset with Blaise?" Pippa asked – she was always the one person who would speak her mind immediately and she wasn't one to beat around the bush. If she wanted something answered, she'd ask.

"No, I'm not upset."

"Well, it just seems like something's wrong."

"Just… I guess maybe I'm just… I want to say jealous but that isn't the right word. I just don't like feeling like my fiancé and my best friend had some sort of history."

"There was no history, Draco. I spoke to her that one time, that's it."

"Stop being a weirdo," Hermione told him, causing Pippa to laugh.

"We should go for a walk in the gardens, it's such a beautiful day out," Pippa said.

Everyone agreed, but Draco refused to leave the house until he made sure he was carrying an epipen – he wasn't going through that ordeal again.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- I know, I know! I'm sorry! I had everything all planned out and didn't even consider the fact that my beta would have to do Christmas on ACTUAL Christmas... I'm an idiot like that. So with my sincerest apologies here is the next installment! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Ten**

Hermione was still ill, stressed and guilty. Another month had passed and she had received one more letter but still hadn't said anything to Draco.

 _'Tonig_ ht' she vowed.

Draco got home from work a little later than usual, but it was a Friday and Hermione figured she needed to just get it over with. She was still in bed; she hadn't left it that day because she wasn't feeling one hundred percent, so she stayed there with a book.

The nerves she was feeling from telling Draco were unreal, and when he entered his room and saw that she was still in bed he rushed forward, the look of concern on his face making her feel that much worse.

"I'm fine, but I need to talk to you," she told him before he could get too close.

"What is it?" he asked, sitting on the side of the bed and looking a little wary.

Hermione took a deep breath, and Draco looked even more worried.

"I want you to hear me out before you get angry." Draco's eyebrows knit together, "because I already know you're going to be upset. When I received the first one you and I were just starting to get along again and I didn't want to be sent away to a different safe house. Once we started dating I wanted to tell you, I really did, but every time I was planning on it, something else came up. I'm probably making excuses, but I knew after a certain amount of time I had just let it go on for too long, so I was scared to tell you because you'd be pissed at me. When you proposed you said you didn't want any secrets between us, and I fully agree. I don't want that either, I want a trusting relationship and I was going to show you that weekend, so you weren't stressed out at work but then we had the party, and then every weekend since something has happened. That's why I'm telling you this now, when you've just got home from work, and not procrastinating until Saturday…"

"What are you talking about?" and Draco looked incredibly worried when he asked that question, almost like he thought Hermione was having an affair, or something.

Instead of answering Hermione reached underneath the blankets and pulled out a shoebox. Draco's eyebrows came together again; he was completely confused.

"What is this?" he asked, reaching forward and grabbing the box, which was filled to the brim. He rifled through the mass of letters and realized that most hadn't even been opened, but there were a few open ones toward the bottom of the pile and he picked one up and read the parchment quickly.

Hermione knew he was going to be angry by the way his jaw set, his eyes hardened, and his face tinged slightly red.

"Are you out of your mind?!" He exploded, "You've been receiving these since before we were back together, and just didn't tell anyone? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I didn't want to be sent away," she started, but Draco cut her off.

"Yes, well I'm sure we could have figured something else out! It's not like they could have forced you to leave, Hermione, and the fact that you've been lying to me for a year is completely unacceptable! You left me because I lied to you for three weeks! Three weeks!"

"That wasn't the same," Hermione said, trying to stand her ground. "You joined a group who were trying to eliminate people of my status, Draco!"

"And you've been hiding something from a person who is trying to eliminate you specifically! I was forced into joining the Death Eaters and you know that, so don't even try to throw that in my face!"

"This is exactly why I didn't even want you to know, I knew you would be angry but I just didn't want to lie anymore!"

"You've been lying! For a year, Hermione, and that's so wrong."

Draco stood up from the bed and grabbed the shoebox of letters, holding them tight to his chest as his anger took control of him. "I'm leaving, I need time to think. Please don't follow me… I'll be back within the week."

"Draco! Don't leave," Hermione said, jumping from the bed and following him into the hallway. "Please don't do this!"

"Hermione," he said, his voice suddenly calm. "I have some serious thinking to do. You've been lying to me for over a year and I don't know how I'm supposed to respond to that, so I really just need to get away for a little while so I can think things through."

"I'm sorry," Hermione cried again, "Please, Draco, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me like this… I love _you_."

"I'm not leaving you, Hermione, I'm going to do some thinking and I'm going to read these letters in peace. I love you too, but please don't follow me."

Draco turned on his heel and stormed down the hallway. Hermione heard him stomping down the stairs and listened hard until she couldn't hear him anymore. She turned and made her way back to the bedroom, but stopped on her way through the door, spun around, and ran to the bathroom to vomit.

The days dragged on and Draco hadn't returned at all. He had been gone for seven days; Hermione was not doing so well.

On the seventh day Narcissa knocked on the bedroom door, and when Hermione didn't answer she forced her way in.

"Are you alright, dear?" she asked, sitting beside Hermione, who was laying in the fetal position. "I know you've been eating because the elves have informed me they've been bringing you soup, but I need to know what's wrong. It's been days. Is it because Draco is gone on business?"

"I'm not sure what's wrong," Hermione groaned, feeling exceptionally ill but ignoring the last question Narcissa asked. "Would it be too much of a bother for you to contact Pippa? I think I need to get checked."

"Of course, dear. Is there anything I can bring you in the meantime?"

"A bucket?" Hermione half-joked. She tried to laugh but groaned pathetically instead.

"I'm going to owl Pippa now," Narcissa assured before leaving the poor girl.

/

"Well, Hermione, I definitely know what the problem is."

"I'm dying?"

"You have the flu, which I can give you a potion for."

"This is the worst flu I've ever had."

"That's because on top of that, you're pregnant, which I can also give you a potion for, but for some reason I don't think you'd want it."

"What?"

"That's right. Knocked right up - almost two months along, by the looks of it. So you have the flu, morning sickness and you're ridiculously stressed out," Pippa reiterated, leaving out the bad joke.

"Oh my God… Draco… he needs to know."

"I think you should give him his space, Hermione. I know you don't want to hear that, but… it's what needs to happen. We all know he's going to come back, but he needs to do it in his own time. It's been a week… I'm sure he will be home within the next couple days."

Hermione sometimes wished Pippa would just tell her what she wanted to hear, but it was also nice that her friend was straight with her. As the girl was speaking she was mixing a potion for Hermione's flu, she reached out and handed it to Hermione, who hesitated.

"It's safe for the baby?"

"Of course it is! Do you think I'm some sort of uncontrollable moron who would give someone a potion that would harm their unborn child?"

Hermione almost laughed before downing the potion.

"Would you like me to stay with you tonight?" Pippa asked, Hermione nodded and was happy beyond measure that she was already feeling better.

"If you wouldn't mind, that would be great. I'm tired of being sick and alone."

Pippa started packing her healer bag and said, "I'm going to run home and get some things together. I'll also let Blaise know he's free to do whatever he pleases for the night… well, within reason of course." She tossed Hermione a wink before floating gracefully from the room.

Hermione already felt better, but she knew she would feel even better if she was cleaned up, so she headed to the bathroom to shower before Pippa came back. She couldn't resist looking at herself in the mirror when she had stripped off her dirty pajamas, pushing out her belly and arching her back ridiculously to make it as big as possible. She stuck her tongue out at herself before grinning and rubbing her hands over her still flat stomach, if only she and Draco had found out together… but she knew he'd be happy when he found out. She could feel that things between them would be fine and she completely understood why he needed to go away to think.

He was a lot less drastic than she was, anyway.

/

While Hermione was being told she was pregnant, Draco was sitting at the dining room table of their stable house, which was still on Malfoy property. Originally, the family who was hired to look after the horses and other animals lived in this small cottage, but when his family got rid of those who tended to them the cottage was left the way it was. It was a place Draco had visited often during his life when he felt overwhelmed, especially since no one else really paid it any attention.

He had spent a lot of time in silence, lost in memories from his past, and the rest of the time he spent reading the awful letters his fiancé had been receiving for over a year. He only had about five left to go, but he needed to take a break because it was all just too much. It was hard to sit there and read the things someone was writing to his future wife – someone who was clearly disturbed.

Draco settled down on the couch for a short nap, deciding he needed _one before he finished reading the remaining letters._

 _"Do you believe everything we've been taught?" a small, straw coloured hair boy asked, his br_ o _wn eyes looking into Draco's silver ones questioningly._

 _"Why wouldn't I?" Draco inquired. He was only nine, after all, and wasn't_ a _bout to start questioning the teaching of their fathers._

 _"I don't know," the boy sighed, fiddling w_ i _th a piece of grass. "I just don't know if I believe it."_

 _"Believe it," Draco snapped. "They're magic thieves and want nothing more th_ a _n to bring_ _pureblooded_ f _amilies like ours to their knees."_

 _"But why?"_

 _"Who know_ s _?"_

 _"I dunno, Draco, it just doesn't seem overly believable…"_

 _"Believe_ _it,"_ t _he blond boy answered again before changing the subject._

 _/_

 _"When we were shopping for our school supplies I couldn't tell the_ d _ifference between muggleborns and purebloods, Draco. Could you?"_

 _Draco sat on the couch heavily. He couldn't tell either, and everyone had always made the muggleborns seem_ l _ike monsters; like they should be easily identified in the crowd._

 _"No," he admitted quietly; Eleven years old and already_ q _uestioning his fathers' beliefs._

 _"I had a feeling it wasn't true."_

 _"Well maybe they're just good at hiding their deformities!" Draco almost yelled. "There has to be a reason we were taught the things we were, and maybe you want to betray your father but I definitely don't, so if you're going to keep spou_ t _ing off how muggleborns can't be that_ _bad, go do it somewhere else."_

 _"I just wanted to know your opinion."_

 _"My opinion is that our parents wouldn't lie to us about important things in our lives. We are sacred twenty eight, for Merlin sake! They obvio_ u _sly d_ o _n't want us spending time with filth. Get it through your head!"_

 _/_

 _They watched a bushy-haired witch walk by their comp_ a _rtment holding her wand, followed by the pureblooded Neville Longbottom._

 _"I spoke to that girl there for a few minutes when the train first started moving – before I could find you, and she knows more about Hog_ w _arts than I do! Obviously a pureblood. I hope she'll be friends with us."_

 _"What was she telling you?" Draco asked, obviously excited about learning more about their school. They knew plenty but he was always willing to listen t_ o _stories about the school he was to be attending for the next seven years._

 _"Did you know the ceiling in the Great Hall is charmed to mimic the weather outside? If it's snowing outside, the ceiling will be snow_ i _ng as well, but it won't_ b _e real snow and it won't even land on the floor!"_

 _"Really? That's awesome!"_

 _His young friend continued to relay stories that Hermione Granger had shared with him first, bot_ h _boys_ _happy that they_ w _ere finally to begin their magical education formally._

 _/_

 _"She's so cute."_

 _"Don't even think about it," thirteen year old Drac_ o _growled, "we both kn_ o _w that she's a muggleborn and that's obviously not okay."_

 _"But she's so smart."_

 _"Only because she reads everything possible about our world; she didn't come across that information from her parents. She's a fraud,_ _she's a mudblood, and she's off limits – no mat_ t _er how cute and smart she may be."_

 _"So you would never consider being her friend?"_

 _"Never," the blond snarled, "She's filth, and you'd do good to rememb_ e _r that!" and with that he ripped his arm out of his friends' grasp and stormed away._

 _He was getting really tired of the attention his friend seemed to pay to Hermione. It didn't seem natural and it didn't seem… real. Draco felt like he was constantly bei_ n _g questioned about her by his sandy haired, dark eyed friend, but he had no idea why._

 _He couldn't know that they spent a lot of time together, could he? They'd been pretty careful about the time they spent together, and e_ v _en when Draco ran into her late at night, no one else was around_ _so no_ _one would know._

 _People could not know_ t _hat he and Hermione Granger were friends._

 _/_

 _"I don't think she even knows my name."_

 _"That_ ' _s a good thing," fifteen year old Draco snapped, "she doesn't need to you_ k _now your name."_

 _"I approached her yesterday and she just smiled at me and just walked by."_

 _"Why would you approach her?_ " _Draco asked, sittin_ g _up straighter; put on edge, "you have no need to approach tha_ t _filth."_

 _"I like her, Draco!"_

" _How can you even like her if she's never even talked to you?"_

 _"She talked to me on the train."_

 _"When we were eleven. That was four yea_ r _s ago, for Merlin's sake! Stay away, this is going to cause you problems, I can see it already."_

 _"Sh_ e _'s special," his friend replie_ d, a twisted grin on his face that made Draco stop and look at him.

"She's a mudblood. Let it go."

Draco opened his eyes and sat back up quickly, realizing suddenly why phrases seemed to be jumping off the pages of the letters Hermione had been receiving… He knew the man!

He pulled the missives sent to Hermione closer to him and began rifling through them quickly, more and more phrases jumping out at him.

"No way," he breathed, reaching for the final letters and ripping them open.

His eyebrows drew together as he skimmed over the remaining letters; the photos in them were of Hermione in the manor. How his long-time friend had access to his property without Draco's knowledge was perplexing – the only person who wasn't a Malfoy and had complete access was Blaise Zabini, so Draco was incredibly confused about how the photos were taken. But now that he actually sat back and thought about it… how had the letters arrived in the first place?

Draco stood from the couch in one fluid movement and was heading for the door to go back to the main house when it burst open from the outside.

Blaise Zabini looked positively frantic.

"He's got Hermione," the Italian said in an eerily calm tone.

Draco felt as though he had been physically punched in the stomach. He staggered backwards and sat down heavily on the couch.

"How can you be sure?" Draco asked, feeling nauseous.

"Pippa was staying with Hermione because she was lonely. She's pregnant, by the way –"

"Pippa?"

"No. Hermione."

"WHAT?!"

"I know this isn't the best time to tell you that, but she is. Pippa was staying with her – no, Draco, I need to tell you this! Hermione, for whatever reason, left the room in the middle of the night. Pippa woke up when the door closed and waited a few minutes, thinking she went to the bathroom or something and was coming right back, but when she didn't Pippa went looking for her. She was on the top of the staircase when the main doors closed, so she ran down to follow her, wondering what the hell she was doing going outside. She said she was running down a pathway to the lake, because she just 'had a feeling' – whatever that means, and saw him grab her. I guess he was laying on the ground below her and she was leaning over, like she was trying to see him closely, and he just reached up and grabbed her tight, hauling her to her feet with him before he apparated away with her. Draco, it was – "

"Theodore Nott, I know."

Blaise looked dumbfounded for a moment, but Draco gestured to all of the letters scattered around the couch and coffee table, "I was reading them. I just figured it out and was going back to the manor when you got here."

"Where would he take her, Draco?"

"Them," Draco spat.

"What?"

"Them, Blaise. Hermione and my unborn child. Would he have taken them to his flat?!"

The Nott family fell pretty hard after the war and had lost a considerable chunk of their fortune. A couple of years after Theo's father was thrown in jail their family Manor caught fire and burned to the ground. People just assumed it was sympathizers of the light who had started the fire, so Theo lived in a flat he shared with a few other people.

"Nott lives in a flat with roommates, so I can't imagine he'd take her there."

"Where else?" Draco growled, now standing and pacing around.

"I…"

"Let's just check the apartment! We don't know if his roommates are there right now or not, and I don't want to risk it. We need to contact the Aurors as well."

"I'll send a patronus to Pippa and ask her to do it and let her know we are gone searching for Hermione."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N- So this is the last real chapter! The next is the epilogue and once I get that back from my beta I'll post it. Hopefully I'll have it back in a couple days. I'm sad that this story is over but I'm really hoping everyone liked it and I just want to say thank you to everyone who added the story to their alerts and also to those people that reviewed! I really appreciate it all.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Eleven**

Hermione woke up late at night for no reason whatsoever other than that she had been stressed out recently and had a lot on her mind. She had been sleeping restlessly before she woke up fully anyway, so she got out of bed and approached the window.

What she saw there made her heart soar.

"Draco," she whispered, her fingers lingering on the glass for a moment before she turned and hurried down the hallway, desperate to get outside and see him. She didn't know why he was just standing there the way he was, but she wanted to see him. It had been a long week.

When she rounded the manor she didn't see him anymore, and she felt her stomach drop when she realized he was laying on the ground. Had something happened?! She rushed forward and threw herself onto her knees in front of him, bending down to whisper his name; when she was fairly close to his face his eyes snapped open and she recoiled in shock. This was not Draco.

The man's hair changed from platinum blonde to a shoddy straw colour and it didn't look as fine as silk, no, it resembled straw in both colour and texture; his eyes were a muddy brown, his face changed from Draco's handsome one to one that looked almost old, even though it wasn't. It was a face that had been through too much for such an age.

Before Hermione could even think the man sat up and wrapped his arms tightly around her, standing with her in his embrace so he could turn into the pressurized feeling of apparation. The moment before he was pulled through the tube, so to speak, he saw Pippa Pierce running toward them.

That changed his plans, slightly – he knew Pippa would recognize him instantly; they had just hung out together a week previously, after all.

/

Theodore Nott took Hermione directly to Pippa's apartment. He knew that Blaise would be informed immediately that he had taken Hermione – which meant that Draco would be told as soon as possible – and the first place they would look was his apartment. He was planning to take the witch there at first, but once Pippa saw him he knew the jig was up. No one would look in her apartment though, that was for sure… not anytime soon, anyway.

"Who are you?!" Hermione Granger asked, and Theodore felt his blood pressure spike. She still had no idea who he was! "Take me home, please! Just take me home!"

"Go to the Flint residence!" the man yelled before turning to the witch in front of him. She was confused until she heard the telltale crack of apparation; someone had accompanied them.

Theodore struck her in the face before forcing her into a wooden armchair, binding her there with his magic.

"You don't recognize me, Hermione?"

Hermione was terrified, but she tried to keep it together. If she could keep the man talking then maybe she would be found before anything too serious happened; she had a child to worry about, too.

"Well, I saw you at the Malfoy ball…"

"Yes! You did! And if you had bothered to pay any attention at all you would have noticed me plenty of other places, as well. You were just too busy with all those other wankers to notice me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Instead of telling you, I'm going to show you."

"Please don't hurt me," Hermione whispered, shaking like a leaf.

"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you. Not yet, anyway…"

Hermione swallowed. She needed to keep it together, because she wasn't about to let her and Draco's unborn child die.

Theodore Nott reached into his pocket slowly and pulled out a small bowl with a flourish. He pointed his wand at it to enlarge it and Hermione watched as a Pensieve formed in front of her eyes. Her captor approached it and began unloading memories into it rapidly.

How could someone that she didn't know have so many memories of her? While he was busy she looked around, noticing that the flat they were in was very feminine. This couldn't be this man's home…

After a few minutes the straw haired man turned back to her, pointing his wand threateningly.

"I'm going to allow you to move, but you need to walk right over here and get in this Pensieve. Any funny business and I'll kill you instantly, with no explanation as to why I'm here or doing this."

Hermione nodded and once she felt she was free from the chair she had to will her legs to hold her body weight. They were trembling so hard she wasn't sure if she would stumble or not, but she made it to the man in a few short steps and stood beside him, looking at the Pensieve as though it were a snake waiting to attack.

"Get in there," the man growled, poking her in the back with his wand.

Hermione took a deep breath and leaned down until her nose broke the surface of memories; she fell face first into the murky substance and landed lightly on her feet in what she knew was definitely Malfoy Manor. A young Draco and Theodore were on a couch in the sitting room in front of her, and the older Theodore with the premature lining on his face stepped up beside her.

"Listen," he said, and Hermione obeyed. She was listening to Theo question their teachings while Draco adamantly refused to listen to the boy; Draco was arguing that they were being taught what they were about muggleborns for a reason and it wouldn't do them any good to deny it.

The memory changed numerous times, but it was always the same situation – Theo questioning what could be wrong with muggleborns and Draco defending the things they had been taught.

 _/_

 _Hermione was young, probably eleven, and on the school train._

 _Her compartment door opened and a young boy entered, he looked extremely proud, even though he was quite reedy, and he sat down opposite of her in a very confident manner._

 _"_ _You're a first year, I'm assuming," the boy said, and Hermione nodded. "I am as well, Theodore Nott," he said, reaching forward to shake her hand, "but my friends call me Theo."_

 _"_ _My name is Hermione," she answered, shaking his hand and then settling back on her bench, where she spent a rather enjoyable half hour talking to Theodore about Hogwarts._

 _"_ _Well, I should go find my other friends," the boy said, standing up to excuse himself. He did so with a slight bow._

 _/_

 _Theodore was still incredibly young and was walking down a corridor in the castle, it was dark out already but it wasn't quite curfew for their year. He passed Greg Goyle and asked the boy where Draco had gotten to, since he knew the two were together that evening. Goyle grunted about someone crying in a classroom and Theodore approached the door where Greg indicated his blond friend had gone._

 _"_ _Are you okay?" he heard his friend ask gently, and Theodore moved to the side of the door so he could eavesdrop effectively._

 _"_ _Get out," a girl whispered. Silence followed her words and Theo was considering opening the door and 'finding' them, but before he could put his idea into action the door flung open and none other than Hermione Granger came bursting out, turning and running down the hallway in the opposite direction of him._

 _Theodore was shocked, to say the least – he knew exactly how Draco felt about muggleborns, and everyone knew for a fact that the girl was a mudblood; so why was his friend attempting to comfort her?_

 _Draco came out moments later and headed in the same direction as Hermione. Neither noticed the small boy standing outside the door with a completely confused look on his face._

 _/_

Hermione noticed that Theodore's memories started to take an obsessive turn; if he wasn't constantly watching her or Draco he was trying to catch them together.

 _/_

 _Theodore was standing outside of a broom closet door listening to what was happening inside intensely. He could hear the specific sound two people's mouths made as they kissed without abandon, and he couldn't really believe that he had seen Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger enter it moments before._

 _Thankfully they were only kissing._

/

 _Hermione watched herself walking down the corridor, late for a class judging by how fast her legs were going – she was doing nothing short of jogging. Theodore Nott was walking in the opposite direction of her and as they were crossing paths he smiled and said "Hey!" and Hermione smiled back and continued on her way._

 _"_ _I don't think she even knows my name," Theo whined._

 _"_ _That's a good thing," fifteen year old Draco_ _snapped._ _"She doesn't need to you know your name."_

 _"_ _I approached her yesterday and she just smiled at me and just walked by," he said, and as far as Hermione could tell that was a massive overstatement. The boy hadn't approached her, he just smiled and said hi, so she smiled back._

 _"_ _Why would you approach her?" Draco asked, sitting up straighter; put on edge. "You have no need to approach that filth."_

 _"_ _I like her, Draco!"_

 _"_ _How can you even like her if she's never even talked to you?"_

 _"_ _She talked to me on the train."_

 _"_ _When we were eleven. That was four years ago, for Merlin sake! Stay away, this is going to cause you problems, I can see it already."_

 _"_ _She's special," his friend replied, a twisted grin on his face that made Draco stop and look at him._

 _"_ _She's a mudblood. Let it go."_

 _Hermione knew that Draco was trying to deter his friend from her, but Draco didn't fully understand how much Theo was obsessed with her, and with him, for that matter. Draco didn't know that Theo was watching their every move, and he definitely didn't know that his friend knew about his relationship with Hermione._

 _/_

 _"_ _Hermione Granger?" Flint asked Theo, and Hermione's stomach dropped to her feet when she set eyes on the two men who had raped her all of those years ago. Seeing their seventeen year old forms was something she really hadn't wanted to deal with._

 _"_ _She's Potter's friend, right? Tight little mudblood? Hot?"_

 _"_ _That's the one," Theo said, grinning devilishly._

 _"_ _Well, that shouldn't be a problem, mate, but do we get to know why?"_

 _"_ _No," Theo snapped, "just take the gold and don't ask me any questions. Remember, take her at any opportunity and send for me immediately after she's apprehended."_

 _Hermione's head started spinning. Her rape was orchestrated by someone who was obsessed with her?_

 _Why?_

 _Theo was sitting on the couch in his packed common room when a small Patronus approached him quickly; it said the words Theo had been waiting to hear quietly, not attracting any attention. He got to his feet instantly and looked around carefully before he deemed it safe to leave the common room. Draco wouldn't even notice he was gone because the wanker was so busy fighting off Pansy Parkinson. The sandy haired boy hustled down the corridor and made a beeline for the school's old potions classroom, meeting the two older boys and a very unconscious Hermione Granger inside._

 _He had been waiting for this day for years._

 _"_ _Good," he said, his face splitting into a smile, "Leave me with her for a little bit. Once I'm done you two can do whatever you want, but I definitely get her first."_

 _The older Hermione walked as far away as the memory would allow her, covering her ears to the boys' sounds of pleasure while he used her unconscious body for his own satisfaction. Hermione was doing everything in her power to not vomit on the floor with the realization that this was real and had indeed happened to her without her knowledge._

 _She had had no idea that there had been a third._

 _Draco was going to murder this man._

 _/_

 _Theo watched the couple closely and felt a strange sense of power in his chest when he realized how ruined they both appeared. Draco had been unusually pale for days and he was extremely on edge – he was also giving Flint and Montague death looks at every opportunity he had when he thought no one was paying him any attention. Theodore also saw him staring across the hall at his girlfriend during every meal, clearly worried._

 _Hermione looked skinny and ill. He hadn't seen her eat a decent meal since the event had taken place._

 _Poor girl._

 _/_

 _Theo was walking alongside Blaise and they saw a girl sitting at the edge of the lake, her knees drawn to her chest and her shoulders heaving. Blaise insisted on approaching, but Theodore hung back a little bit, knowing full well who she was. He didn't want to get too close to her, she did something unusual to him; no other girl affected him the way she did._

 _Instead Theodore stared at her and wondered why she never noticed him yet she wasted her time with all those mudblooded idiots. They'd all pay, one day._

 _/_

 _Theo was standing outside a broom closet again, and this time the sounds coming from within were much more lewd than simple kissing. He figured they liked the possibility of getting caught, because it wasn't like it was hard to put up a silencing spell. He had watched them closely enough to know that they didn't do things like ordinary teenaged couples; he had watched Hermione flash her knickers to Draco in classes plenty of times._

 _How no one else caught on to what they were doing was beyond him._

 _/_

"Get up!" Theo screamed at Hermione as a new memory started to form; she was crouched in the distance with her eyes shut and her ears covered.

She didn't acknowledge him. He strode over to her and grabbed her by her arm roughly, hoisting her up to her feet while he ignored the tears on her cheeks.

"Get up and watch, bitch, or I'll drag your arse out of here and be done with it all!"

Hermione opened her eyes slowly and forced herself to continue watching demented scenes of a twisted mind. The things she saw had happened, definitely, but Theodore saw them in a different way than they had actually happened.

He was sick.

 _/_

 _Theo was heading back to the common room late one night; too late, actually. He had been wandering the castle looking for his star crossed lovers for ages. He wasn't impressed by how quickly Hermione had gotten over her rape and he figured a lot of it had to do with Draco's constant presence in her life._

 _He had expected them to both be ruined by it for ages, maybe even break up. He hadn't expected it to bring them closer together._

 _He stumbled and stopped when he heard a very familiar giggling coming from an empty classroom near the dungeon stairs._

 _He wanted to see what they were doing, no, he_ needed _to see. He opened the door as slow as possible to ensure it didn't squeal and give away his post._

 _Hermione was sitting on the desk with her thighs spread wide and her skirt hiked up, her shirt was unbuttoned almost entirely and her bra was pulled down around her waist, her breasts completely naked; Draco was positioned between her open legs, his pants dropped around his ankles and his neck bent, mouth wrapped around one of her bare nipples. Theo could tell that they were trying to be quiet, but the grunts and moans coming from the couple were enough for him to feel his own pants start to tighten._

 _When Hermione started a quiet course of "Oh, God, Draco," over and over Theo knew he better make himself scarce, but he wanted to hear her climax. That was something he had never heard from her before and he just really wanted to see what it sounded like._

 _He wasn't disappointed._

 _It was almost a keening sound, but she was trying to keep her voice down so it was a cross between high pitched sobs of pleasure and whimpers. Draco's legs were shaking and he was grunting as though trying to keep it together, but Theo knew his blond friend wasn't going to last much longer. Hermione was thrusting, moaning, and her chest was heaving right in Draco's face, she was riding out her climax and the moment Theo realized it was Draco's turn he fled the room._

 _He didn't want to see that._

 _Unfortunately his elbow hit the doorframe on his way out; he was so aroused he could barely think straight, never mind walk properly. He slipped through before the couple could see him and he all but ran down the hall. He didn't need Draco rushing out and catching him._

 _/_

 _Theo was rushing down the hall to his common room late at night again. He had just received a missive from his father and was told through code that he would be getting his Dark Mark as soon as school was out in a couple weeks. Apparently Draco had already got his and Theo had a thousand questions for the boy; he had heard it was extremely painful and was wondering if it was true or if it was just something people said to make the newcomers nervous._

 _He was almost to the blank stretch of wall when he was bowled over by an incredibly upset Hermione Granger who was running in the opposite direction._

 _Theodore narrowed his eyes when she didn't even acknowledge his presence, but when he was heading to their dorms and saw that Draco Malfoy was in tears and trying to talk to Blaise that he realized something major had happened with the couple._

 _"_ _Finally," Theodore said under his breath as he avoided the scene and went to his own room for the night._

 _One thing that was brought to his attention from the entire situation is that Blaise Zabini knew about their relationship as well. That was something to keep in mind._

 _/_

 _"_ _Mrs. Malfoy! Imagine seeing you here," Theodore said, and he looked to be about the same age as the man standing beside her._

 _"_ _Theo, a pleasure," Narcissa said, holding out a dainty hand for him to shake._

 _Narcissa was holding a formal dress on a hanger, and Theo canted his head slightly when looking at it. It was much too small and much too young for the woman before him._

 _"_ _Who are you shopping for? Surely Draco wouldn't be comfortable in such an outfit," Theo said, grinning lopsidedly at Narcissa Malfoy._

 _She laughed lightly._

 _"_ _As much as I would love to see that, this is actually for a family member of mine in France."_

 _"_ _France? I wasn't aware you had any family remaining in France."_

 _Narcissa suddenly became nervous. Her story was good enough for inconsequential shop girls, but it wasn't refined enough for people who actually knew her family._

 _"_ _A niece," she said weakly, backing away from Theodore's narrowed eyes. He was deep in thought, and he knew that Hermione had been removed from her flat… wouldn't that be just too neat, if she had ended up right back in Draco's lap?_

 _/_

 _"_ _Bugsy!"_

 _"_ _Master?"_

 _The small elf appeared before Theodore, one of the few things he had managed to keep from his old life._

 _"_ _I have something I need you to do."_

 _/_

"Where the hell could they be?" Draco snapped, wanting desperately to find his fiancé.

"I don't know, Draco."

"Did he see Pippa?" Draco asked Blaise suddenly. "Did he see her?"

"I have no idea, it's possible."

"If he knew that Pippa had seen him, where would he go? He wouldn't go home, because that would be the obvious first place we'd look."

Blaise sighed, "I don't know."

Draco stood still for a moment in the silence of the empty flat. The Auror's would be arriving soon, he was sure, because the flat that belonged to one Theodore Nott was probably filled to the brim with evidence of the previous murders that had taken place.

He was trying to think what he would do. Well, what he would do if he was an insane psychopath who was clearly obsessed with Hermione.

He'd take her to the least obvious place, of course, but where would that be? Pippa had seen him, and Draco was fairly sure that Theo had probably seen her too. The moon was almost full so it was throwing off plenty of light.

"What's Pippa's address?" Draco asked suddenly, snapping his eyes open and turning to Blaise.

"You think that's where he went?"

"I think it's possible," Draco said, and before he could explain Blaise had him by the arm and pulled him into side-along apparation.

They appeared in the living room and Draco stumbled slightly while trying to get his bearings.

"I still have plenty of things I've promised to do to you," he heard Nott threaten. Hermione whimpered and Draco was confused about why they hadn't heard their arrival. It wasn't as though apparation was silent.

"Pippa has roommates and has a constant spell on her room to keep the sounds out. She's a healer and works shiftwork… she sleeps at odd times," Blaise said, almost as though he had read Draco's mind. Blaise fired off a patronus while Draco put up anti-apparation wards on the apartment – Nott wasn't getting away that easily – and Blaise surged forward, throwing open the door. Draco followed and almost fell over when he saw Hermione tied to a rather small bed, her arms extended above her head. Nott was standing beside her with his wand pointed at them.

"It's over, Nott," Blaise was saying. "Everyone knows where you are and they'll be here shortly."

"Why would you take her?" Draco asked, trying to keep his voice calm but he was genuinely curious. "And why did all those people need to die?" He edged toward Hermione as he was asking, trying to distract the man and prolong the time until the authorities arrived.

"Why did I take her?!" Nott almost screamed, his eye rolling in his head slightly. "You knew how much I loved her! You knew it all those years and didn't care, you took her for yourself! Did you think I didn't know?!"

"You didn't love her, Nott. You didn't even know her."

"I loved her!" he yelled. "I still love her! You sat there constantly telling me that she was filth and I deserved better, but you were fucking her behind everyone's backs. You knew how I felt about her!"

Draco could see that he wasn't going to get anywhere with that line of questioning.

"And all the others? Why did they need to die?"

"While she was ignoring me she was spending her time with them. She knew their names and laughed with them. She spent time with them and even touched them! She wouldn't touch me willingly. Hell, she wouldn't even speak to me! I deserved her attention much more than all of those mudbloods, and there she was spending her time with them instead of me! And you! You stole her from me, Draco! You knew, and you stole her."

"How did you get on my property, Nott?" Draco desperately needed that piece of information.

The sandy haired man turned to Draco and gave him a truly deranged grin, "It's interesting," he started, "that no one, including you, listened to Hermione's story about the war a little closer. She didn't even catch on and she was the one who lived through it! House elves, you imbecile!" Draco groaned inwardly. How he hadn't figured that out, he would never know.

"I knew from their account of what had happened at your manor that the elves could get in and out of your wards with witches and wizards with no problem. My own elf was delivering letters to Hermione for me for almost a year, taking them directly to her room. After the ball I was really starting to miss her plus I was running out of photos to accompany the letters, so I began to get my elf to bring me through the wards with him. I didn't do anything to her, not then, I just wanted to see her. I can't say I was thrilled that she was in your bed; it didn't seem to take too long to rekindle the relationship between the two of you. My elf helped me get her out of there tonight though, since he had to apparate the two of us out of your wards."

Nott was telling them everything because he was desperately enjoying the looks on their faces. He had outsmarted them all and he knew it, they knew it, and he relished in it.

"Why wouldn't you have just taken her when you had those opportunities to take photos?"

"I couldn't just take her, Malfoy. I have to do things a certain way, and besides, I still had other people to finish off before I got to her and made her understand that this was ALL HER FAULT!"

He screamed the last words with wild abandon and Draco's eyes widened.

"If she had just paid some sort of attention to me; given me a chance when I so desperately wanted it instead of ignoring me for all those morons… things would have been different."

"What about Draco? Hermione ignored every male in school for Draco."

Draco shot a Blaise an 'Oh, thanks' look, but Theo answered immediately.

"I couldn't kill Draco! He was my friend… since we were children we were friends. There's no way I would have been able to kill him."

Draco was having a hard time keeping up with the man's logic. He couldn't kill Draco for being the only one who was actually at fault of having Hermione's attention, but he could hurt Draco by kidnapping his fiancé, doing something to break her – Draco didn't miss the tear stains on her cheeks and the blatant fear in her eyes – and planning on murdering her gruesomely. Never mind the letters he had been sending Hermione for over a year.

In the silence that followed Nott's confusing statement Draco suddenly pointed his wand at Hermione and unbound her. Immediately after those actions several things happened at once.

Hermione rolled from the bed, hitting the floor and staying down seconds before the area she was laying went up in flames. Blaise had screamed, "Stupefy!" while Nott was trying to hex Hermione, and he hit the ground with a loud 'thud' as Hermione scurried to her fiancé.

"He's barkers," she cried, throwing herself into his arms.

"Clearly," Blaise said. "But the Auror's should be here shortly to deal with him."

Draco pointed his wand at the man and ropes sprung out and tied him up tightly, "He won't be going anywhere."

The shimmering lights from the Pensieve grabbed both Draco and Blaise's attention almost immediately after Nott was bound.

"What's that?" Draco asked, moving forward.

"Nothing. Don't go in there, Draco," Hermione begged, and the blond turned to her with a questioning look on his face.

"What is it?"

"Nott's extremely twisted memories. Please don't go in there."

Blaise took it upon himself to enter the memories almost immediately. Hermione sighed.

"I'm so sorry," Draco said, gathering his witch in his arms tightly, "I should have been there tonight. I shouldn't have left like I did."

"I totally understand why you needed your own space, Draco, and I'm sorry that I made you feel like you needed it."

Draco dropped his hand to Hermione's stomach, "Is it true?" he whispered, his hand caressing her belly.

"According to Pippa."

"I'm glad," he said, "and just in time too, since we've caught the scum of the universe. We can be a normal, happy family."

Hermione gave Draco a small, almost sad smile. She didn't think they would ever be considered 'normal', but she didn't want to tell him that.

The Auror's burst into the flat before he had a chance to ask her why she was giving him that look, lead directly by Harry Potter. Hermione groaned but gave no other indication that she was upset the dark haired man was in her vicinity.

They were extremely efficient, but Hermione had to yell at a man who was about to take the Pensieve for evidence; Blaise was still in there, after all. Nott was rounded up and apparated to the Ministry immediately and they told Hermione she would have to go in for questioning within the hour.

Harry avoided the couple.

There was only one Auror left in the room who was waiting to take the Pensieve to the Ministry when Blaise emerged from the basin. The moment his feet touched the floor the Auror had the bowl in his possession and apparated away with it before Blaise even had time to vomit on the floor.

"Nott?! Did you know before tonight?" he asked as soon as he was finished heaving on his girlfriend's floor.

Hermione shook her head no and gave a very pointed look at Draco, although she was embarrassed that Blaise had seen that particular memory, on top of others.

"I tried not to look at the more private ones," the Italian said, watching Hermione closely. He looked sheepish and she was having a hard time meeting his eyes, "I swear, I didn't look. Although that man is completely barmy."

"What is it?" Draco asked, watching the two closely. "What were the memories?"

"You can tell him," she said to Blaise. "I have to go give a statement."

"So do Blaise and I," Draco reminded. "But while you're giving yours Blaise can fill me in."

/

Pippa was holding Hermione's hand tightly while she told the authorities what had happened. They wanted to know how the man had lured the victims out of their safe houses so easily. Hermione knew they were being killed at their safe houses and she still fell victim to his trap.

"He had transfigured himself somehow to look exactly like Draco. I don't know how he did it, but I was looking out my window and saw Draco outside, so I went to see what he was doing."

"And it was Theodore Nott?"

"Yes."

"What did he do to you while he had you in his possession?"

"He forced me to look at memories of his from when we were in school – one of the Auror's has them, so you can view them yourself, please don't make me watch them again or relive them by telling you about them. He said that he murdered all of the muggleborns he did because I was friends with them, but I actually think that he's confused… I think he murdered them because he doesn't know what he's supposed to feel toward my heritage and he doesn't like that. Whatever his reasons, he did it. He told me. You have him in your custody now."

Hermione looked at Pippa suddenly and then began searching the floor of the office with her eyes; Pippa understood suddenly and conjured a garbage pail for the poor girl to vomit in.

"As a healer I must insist that Miss. Granger be released. She needs her rest after this traumatizing experience. If you have any more questions for her they can wait until she's feeling better."

The Auror motioned that they could leave, but he was scribbling on a piece of parchment and didn't seem to really care either way what the two females did at the moment.

The moment Hermione opened the door there was a loud squeal and she was suddenly engulfed in long blonde hair, arms around her back squeezing her tightly.

"Are you okay? I was going out of my mind with worry, and I hadn't heard a word from Draco about how you were. Pippa had a patronus from Blaise but that was only to tell her to come to the ministry. Oh, Hermione, dear, don't scare me like that ever again."

"I'm okay, Narcissa. Theodore Nott didn't have a chance to harm me; Draco and Blaise showed up before he did any lasting damage."

"Where's my son?" she asked, her eyes wild.

"I'm not sure," Hermione answered, extracting herself from Narcissa's grasp slowly and watching Severus, who looked to be at a complete loss.

"Let's go look," she suggested, and Narcissa took off immediately to find Draco with Pippa in tow. Severus hung back and Hermione matched his slow pace; she had a feeling that he wanted to speak to her.

"I know I haven't had many conversations with you and you know you were nothing but a thorn in my side during school; but I knew then and I know now how important you are to Draco. I can't express how sorry I am that I did nothing to help you from the young monsters in my former Hogwarts house when you were sixteen and that I didn't help you from a different one of them now. I had no idea… no idea how many would be affected by such a young age from the trials of war, and for that I apologize."

Severus lengthened his strides, almost as though he were running away from her, but she let him go while she thought about his words. He felt guilty, and he really shouldn't. He played his part in the war and it was a part that not many were brave enough to take on; Severus Snape was a great man, and Hermione vowed from here on out she would be nicer to him and try to be closer as well. He was to be a pretty permanent part of her life from now on, as far as she could tell.

Hermione walked aimlessly because she really had no idea where Draco could have gotten to and she hadn't spent enough time at the Ministry to know her way around other than to get to the Ministers office and out of the building. She decided her best bet would be to wait at the Atrium.

Ron Weasley spotted her almost instantly and made his way to her.

"Hermione," he greeted, "I'm so glad to see that you're alright. I was really worried."

"Hello, Ron. I'm fine, thank you."

Ron's jovial smile faltered.

"Look… I need to apologize to you. I was a right git and I was way too focused on the idea that my best male friend would never lie to me, and while I was doing that and… well abusing you, really, I forgot to take my best female friend's attributes into account."

Hermione said nothing, just stared. Ron had never been one to apologize without being pushed into doing so.

"I'm really sorry. I knew when Harry sent that curse at you that something was really off. I was upset by what Malfoy was saying too, but I wasn't about to hurt you because of it. I wanted to contact you so many times, but I remembered the look on Malfoy's face when we were leaving the manor that night and I just really didn't think he or you would appreciate the letter. I've wanted to patch things up though, Hermione. I really miss you."

Hermione cracked a small smile, she would be lying if she said she didn't miss her friends as well, but things were so different now. Although, just because things were different didn't mean people weren't as well. Maybe Ron was really ready to change and let bygones be bygones.

"Draco and I are engaged," Hermione said, testing him. "We were waiting for this to pass so we could have a real wedding, and now that it has I'm sure it will be soon. Narcissa has been in planning mode for months."

Ron smiled a genuine smile, "I'm glad for you, Hermione, and I really do hope I'm invited to the nuptials."

Ron passed with that one sentence.

"Of course you will be."

"With a plus one?" the red head asked, smiling shyly.

"Definitely. Who's the lucky lady?"

"I don't think you know her. She's actually French, I met her through Fleur."

"I'd love to meet her, one day."

"I'll owl you," Ron assured, backing away slightly when he saw Draco emerge from a lift on the other side of the hall. "And Hermione? Don't be too hard on Harry, either. I know what he did was a lot worse than anything I did, but he has felt nothing but shame for the last while and he really does miss you."

"No promises," she told the red head, who turned and headed for a fireplace so he could floo home.

Draco approached and pulled her into his arms tenderly.

"Let's go home," he said.

/

"Blaise told me everything," Draco said that night in their bedroom. He was sitting on the edge of his bed while Hermione stood at the dressing table, rubbing lotion into the skin of her arms. "I'm… I'm so sorry that you went through that alone. He said he vomited once in the memories and still wasn't able to keep it together when he emerged."

"Draco," Hermione said, turning to him. "I love you, but I don't want to talk about this. I'm sorry, I know that you want me to get it off my chest and what not, but I honestly just… I'm okay. It was a shock, of course, but I just want to move on with our lives. I want out of this rut. I want to get married, have our child, and move on."

Draco stood from the bed and approached her slowly, reaching his hands out and placing them on her still flat stomach. Hermione rested her back on his chest and leaned her head against him. "I just want to be that normal, happy family. I want to leave this all in the past and move ahead with our lives."

"Of course," Draco said, willing to do anything to help her be happy. "I completely understand and I definitely don't disagree. I've had enough of the depression, as well."

"When do you think your mum is going to have the wedding set for?"

"As soon as she can," Draco said with a grin. "She almost fainted when I told her you were pregnant and she said we needed to get the wedding out of the way as soon as possible – she's terribly worried that you'll start showing too soon."

"I won't be surprised if she doesn't have the whole thing set to take place in three weeks," Hermione joked.

She wasn't wrong.

Hermione made sure that there was an invite for Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter plus guests sent out with the rest. Draco didn't even argue with her about it, which she was grateful for, and she had a feeling that he wanted her to make things right with her friends, even if he did hate them.

/

The ceremony was beautiful and elegant, and quick, thank Merlin. Hermione hated being the center of attention and standing at the altar with Draco Malfoy for more than twenty minutes was just not something she was interested in. Narcissa had arranged everything perfectly, and Hermione was glad the task had been taken from her hands.

She would have gone insane if she had to do it on her own.

Hermione had just finished placing a forkful of cake into her husbands' mouth when they were approached by her friends. Both men looked distinctly nervous, but Ron still went in for a hug, which Hermione gratefully bestowed him.

"You must be Sylvie," Hermione said to the gorgeous brunette standing beside Ron, "I've heard so much about you."

"Oui," the woman answered with a smile, "Eet ees a pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger," the woman replied with a slight roll on the 'R' in her surname, and then she giggled delightedly before saying, "Oh, pardon moi, I of course meant Mrs. Malfoy."

Hermione immediately liked her.

Draco bit the bullet and extended his hand to Ron, who looked surprised for a moment before grasping it in his own and giving it a hearty shake. He figured he may as well get used to the red headed git now, since Hermione had made it very clear while the two friends were owling each other constantly the last three weeks that she had decided to forgive both of her friends for their past. She had been adamant that she would only forgive Harry if he had turned over a new leaf, and judging by the small red-head at his side, he had decided to try.

"Harry!" Hermione said, pulling him into a hug that lasted an appropriate amount of time before backing away and saying, "Who's your guest?"

"This is Lydia," Harry said, pulling the small woman closer.

"Nice to meet you," Hermione said, extending her hand.


	12. Chapter 12 (Epilogue)

**A/N- This is the end! I hope everyone likes it, I've never really written an ending like this before. I just wanted to throw out a quick thank you once more to everyone who supported this story and added it to their fav/follow list, as well as those people who have reviewed!**

 **Also a big thank you to my beta who doesn't have a fanfiction account and will therefore never see this Author's Note - but you're appreciated regardless!**

 **Epilogue**

"Where did that little terror get to now?" Severus asked, searching behind the couch in the sitting room. Hermione, who was heavily pregnant, giggled slightly and Draco entered the room, holding his five year old son by the ankle.

"Did you lose something, dad?" Draco asked, approaching Severus with the child.

"Grandpa was supposed to find me, daddy. That's how hide and seek works."

"You're also supposed to stay in the same room, Scorp. If not, it would take grandpa ages to find you in a house this large. Plus all those stairs? You'd be ready to go to Hogwarts before you were found."

Draco flipped his son around before placing his feet on the floor.

"Okay, grandpa! Are you ready? You have to count."

"Enough hide and seek for now, Scorpius," Hermione chastised, "our guests will be here any moment and then you'll have some friends to play with."

"Is Uncle Blaise coming with Dom?"

Blaise and Pippa had a son two months after Hermione and Draco; it turned out that Pippa was pregnant before Draco and Hermione's wedding, they just didn't want to say anything and steal their friends' thunder. They had named their son Domenico, true to Blaise's Italian heritage, but everyone called him 'Dom' for short.

"Yes, the whole family is coming," Draco answered, picking his child up and smoothing out his shirt slightly while Severus left to find Narcissa.

Two years after Dom was born, Blaise and Pippa had a daughter, Caterina, who everyone called 'Cat' for short, much to Pippa's chagrin. Hermione's blonde best friend was pregnant again, but since they had one of each gender, now they were just excited for the baby's arrival.

Hermione could relate.

Her due date had been 6 days ago, so either the healers were morons and got her date wrong or her baby just really didn't want to make an arrival. Hermione and Draco opted out of knowing the gender of their child, the truly didn't care what sex it was, as long as it was healthy.

She stood from the couch and started moving around, tired of sitting around waiting. She had even done everything the healers had suggested in order to move the labour along and nothing was happening. Her water broke the evening before, but when labour didn't actively start her Healer said that if she didn't start active labour by the next evening they would take matters into her own hands. She had been having tiny contractions all day, but nothing major. Nothing that said she would be in active labour that night.

She sighed.

Draco looked at her and instantly understood that she was done with the pregnancy. Hell, she'd been done for a month now and he felt bad that she hadn't gone into labour yet. He had done everything he could to help her along but nothing was working.

This baby was clearly just as stubborn as its mother.

The doorbell rang and Hermione could faintly hear the house elves taking jackets on the cold December day before ushering the Zabini family toward the sitting room.

Pippa groaned when she saw Hermione, "I was hoping to come in and see a new baby."

"As if we wouldn't tell you when I went into labour," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Scorpius squealed upon seeing his friends and they all instantly went into a corner of the room. Hermione had the distinct feeling that they were hatching an idea to get snacks.

"Where are Potter and Weasley?" Blaise asked, "I found this antique broom and wanted to show everyone."

"Show me!" Draco said, leaving his very pregnant wife with their son as he followed Blaise from the room.

Hermione sighed and tried to settle back on the couch with as much dignity retained as possible. She was as large as a whale and could barely move, let alone sit on a couch with any grace.

The doorbell rang again.

"Oh that should be the Potter's and Weasley's. At least I won't be the only huge one here, now," Hermione said as Sylvie waddled into the room. Lydia wasn't pregnant nor did she and Harry have any children, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Apparently Harry wasn't quite barren, but he wasn't the most fertile man out there, either.

"I'm about done with this shite!" Sylvie said instantly, then said, "Sorry my darlings," to Scorpius, Domenico and Caterina, who were all terrorizing an elf to bring them snacks. Hermione didn't have the energy to scold her child at the moment.

"Tell me about it," Hermione griped, attempting to stand again. For some reason she couldn't sit still.

"Have you picked out names yet?" Lydia asked when she returned to the couch. She had given the elf permission to bring the children a light snack and some juice, and then she picked up Caterina and made the three year old snuggle with her on the couch.

"We have but we aren't telling anyone. We want it to be a surprise."

"Like anything could be more surprising than 'Scorpius'?"

The women laughed and Hermione's son ran over and said, "What?"

"Nothing darling," Hermione said, bending down and picking up her five year old.

She almost staggered when a sharp pain ripped through her back, catching her completely off guard.

"Oh!" she said, surprised.

"What is it?" Pippa asked, standing up immediately. She was only a few months pregnant and barely showing.

"I definitely just had a big contraction," Hermione said, grinning despite the pain she felt. She set Scorpius back on his feet and her son was looking up at her in fear, "Does that mean the baby is coming?" he asked.

"Can you go find daddy for me?" Hermione asked instead. Scorpius nodded and headed for the door, Dom following behind.

Another contraction hit Hermione before she could move but this one had her bending slightly at the pain. She looked at Pippa in slight confusion, "Why were those so close together?"

"Oh no…" Pippa said, "We need to go, now."

"It'll still be hours, yet," Hermione argued, "I was in labour for 12 hours with Scorpius."

"That was a completely different set of circumstances," Pippa said.

"I'm not going anywhere yet, Pippa. I'll get to St. Mungo's and they'll send me right home," Hermione said, gripping the couch in pain as she grit her teeth against another one.

"No, Hermione. It's coming fast. This happens more than you even know. We need to go."

Hermione insisted on waiting for Draco, and when twenty minutes and five different sets of contractions had come and gone but Draco hadn't shown up she screamed for an elf.

"Find Master Draco," Hermione spat at the elf, wondering where her mother-in-law and Severus had gotten to.

Five minutes later Draco and Blaise rushed into the room to find Hermione on the floor on her hands and knees, her face covered in sweat. Draco's eyes widened.

"Mother!" He yelled, "Watch the children!" and without even waiting for an answer from the woman he and Blaise gripped Hermione by the arm and helped her to her feet. She doubled over instantly, gasping.

"Shite, shite, shite," Draco said, "Why did you wait so long!? Blaise floo to St. Mungo's and tell them we need a Healer here now."

"I want my own Healer," Hermione argued, breathing hard.

"That might not be possible, darling," Draco said, "But Blaise will check."

The room was suddenly full, and Harry and Ron looked shocked that their best friend was going to give birth in the sitting room.

Narcissa ushered everyone but Pippa and Draco out, Lydia taking Caterina and led them to the dining room instead. There was already an arrangement of hors d'oeuvres spread across the table as well as refreshments lined up. Apparently the elves at Malfoy Manor worked quickly.

"Everyone might as well wait, since apparently this baby isn't taking any time on arriving now. Help yourselves, Severus, please entertain our guests."

"I want to be with my mummy!" Scorpius cried, clinging onto Narcissa's skirt.

"You stay with grandpa. I bet if you ask nicely he'll even play hide and seek with you," Narcissa coaxed. That was the boy's favourite game and he absolutely loved when his grandpa played it with him.

"Is my mum okay?" Scorp asked, his little chin quivering.

"She'll be fine, and when you see her next you'll have a little brother or sister to help take care of."

Narcissa rushed from the room and back into the sitting room and started her spell work. She sterilized the room to the best of her ability and changed the couch into something that more resembled a hospital bed as Blaise, accompanied by Hermione's personal Healer emerged from the fireplace.

Hermione smiled slightly to see Healer Johnson come out of the fireplace and Narcissa huffed as she recast her sterilizing spell.

/

Blaise and Pippa left the room immediately and went to find their children; they were considered family by Draco and Hermione, but they still felt the two deserved their privacy.

Even though the entire dining room, which was just across the hall from the sitting room, could hear Hermione's screams. No one thought to cast a silencing spell.

Luckily, the new baby arrived quickly. Hermione only had to push for ten minutes before the newest addition to their family was born.

Narcissa opened the doors to the sitting room and the friends and family approached them slowly. They entered to see Draco cradling his tiny new born in his large muscular arms, tears in his eyes. Scorpius ran forward and clamped his little arms around his father's legs.

"Can I see, daddy?"

Draco carefully lowered to his knees so that his newborn son was level with his five year old son.

"Scorpius, I'd like you to meet your baby brother, Cepheus."

The entire room except for Narcissa and Severus groaned upon hearing the newest Malfoy's name. Draco and Hermione had to stick with tradition, after all.


End file.
